OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sprint, the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, is extending its 4G leadership by launching the next-generation service across the country. Today, it announced the addition of 17 new markets to its national Sprint 4G roll-out plans. These additional markets join the previously announced markets of Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia and Seattle.

The new additions for 2009 are: Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; Charlotte, N.C.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, N.C.; Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Salem, Ore.; San Antonio, Texas; Waco, Texas; and Wichita Falls, Texas.

Sprint also expects to launch service in multiple markets in 2010, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

These markets will join Baltimore, where Sprint made history when it launched 4G in September 2008. As previously announced, Sprint 4G is scheduled for an August 2009 launch in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, making the cities among the first in America to experience the lightning-fast speeds of the first wireless mobile 4G network from a national carrier. Additional information about launch plans and services in those cities will be announced soon.

Sprint 4G offers turbo-charged mobile broadband – with peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps and average downlink speeds of 3-6 Mbps. Sprint 4G speeds and capabilities are three to five times faster than the 3G service offered by any national wireless carrier today, based on average download speeds.