Cricket Brings Robust Network and Variety of
Unlimited Wireless Voice, Data and Broadband Services to Las Vegas and
Surrounding Areas
Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAP), the parent company of Cricket
Communications, Inc, a leading provider of unlimited wireless services, will
begin offering its Cricket services in Las Vegas, Nev. and surrounding communities
beginning tomorrow. This is the third of Cricket’s
markets to operate on the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum band, and
includes approximately 2 million new covered POPs, bringing Cricket’s national covered POPs to approximately 59 million.
The Cricket Las Vegas core network covers approximately 1,500 square miles.
In addition, Cricket has formed relationships with three strategic roaming
partners that together will provide customers with coverage across approximately
41,000 square miles in the Las Vegas area at no additional charge. The total
coverage area stretches northward to beyond Winnemucca and southward to Lake
Havasu City, Arizona and east to St. George, Utah, making it the largest local
wireless footprint offered by an unlimited wireless service provider in Las
Vegas. The Las Vegas introduction is the company’s third
AWS market launch in six weeks encompassing a total of 5.4 million covered POPs.
Other AWS markets launched since April 8, 2008 include Oklahoma City and the
South Texas markets of McAllen, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Brownsville and
Laredo.
"Together with our partners, our large, robust Las Vegas network achieves our
goal to of launching new markets with both quality and broad coverage,” said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer
of Leap. “Since Las Vegas-area residents tend to live,
work and play in the surrounding communities of North Las Vegas, Henderson,
Boulder City and Laughlin, we believe it is important to come to the market with
a retail footprint and network that cover these areas and not just the heart of
Las Vegas. We are pleased to be launching with more than 100 distribution
points, a variety of AWS wireless phones and a high-speed wireless broadband
modem that we believe will appeal to a wide range of customers. Launching in Las
Vegas is another step in our plan to double the size of our business in the next
two years.”
Beginning tomorrow, Cricket service will be available in the Las Vegas area
at eight Cricket retail stores and approximately 100 authorized dealers where
customers will be able to choose from a wide variety of rate plans, ranging from
$30 to $60 a month and including an assortment of features from unlimited
anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture
messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory
assistance and nationwide roaming minutes.
Las Vegas customers will also be able to experience unlimited high-speed
mobile broadband with Cricket Wireless Internet Service for one low, flat rate
with no long-term commitments or credit checks – the
same principles that Cricket was founded on in 1998. Cricket Wireless Internet
Service is available for $40 a month for unlimited usage, and customers who also
have Cricket mobile phone service receive a $5 discount to pay just $35 monthly.
For more information about Cricket and its wireless plans visit: www.mycricket.com
or for more information on Leap Wireless visit: www.leapwireless.com.
About Leap
Leap provides innovative, high-value wireless services to a fast-growing,
young and ethnically diverse customer base. With the value of unlimited wireless
services as the foundation of its business, Leap pioneered its Cricket(R)
service. The Company and its joint ventures now operate in 23 states and hold
licenses in 35 of the top 50 U.S. markets. Through its affordable, flat-rate
service plans, Cricket offers customers a choice of unlimited voice, text, data
and mobile Web services. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Leap is traded on
the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LEAP." For more
information, please visit www.leapwireless.com
