Cricket Prepares for Hurricane Irene

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), is preparing for the storm-related effects of Hurricane Irene as it makes its expected path up the eastern seaboard.  Cricket teams from South Carolina northward to New Jersey are preparing for possible power outages, flooding and other likely impacts from the storm.

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Cricket's engineering, operational and safety and security teams are actively monitoring Hurricane Irene's projected path and activating previously prepared emergency plans designed to keep the networks operational and customer services operating as normally as possible.  Generators are being strategically staged just outside the areas likely to be affected that can be deployed quickly to offset the loss of power to cell sites or other company facilities.  In addition, previously purchased fuel pods are also standing by to ensure a steady supply of fuel to the generators.

Cricket is following procedures to secure and close retail stores and safeguard employees in the affected areas should conditions warrant.  Cricket staff members working in un-affected areas of the country are on stand-by and can be deployed to the east coast if necessary.  

Cricket is also encouraging wireless users to ready themselves for the potential loss of power and flooding with the following tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

• Charge your battery and have a backup – Having an extra battery for your phone (or a solar charger) in your emergency kit will ensure you can use your device if the power stays out for an extended period of time.
• Store useful phone numbers – Check the numbers for your emergency contacts to make sure they're up to date.  Be sure to save the contact information for your local police and fire departments, as well as your utility companies.  That way, you'll be able to quickly report any service or power outages following an emergency.
• Create a group for your emergency contacts – Some cell phones allow you to create contact groups or lists, making it easy to send a single text message to a group to let them know your status after an emergency.  Many social networking sites allow you to create a list or group of contacts as well, making it easy to share your status with your emergency contacts following a disaster.
• Send text messages – Wireless networks can experience heavy call traffic during emergencies.  Text messages can be transmitted much quicker.
• Bookmark useful mobile sites – If your cell phone has internet access, take advantage of mobile websites that are formatted to display information within a mobile browser.  The National Weather Service (http://mobile.weather.gov), Center for Disease Control (http://m.cdc.gov), and FEMA (http://m.fema.gov) are mobile sites you can bookmark today.

About Cricket

Cricket is the pioneer of simple and affordable unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required serving approximately 5.7 million customers in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Cricket offers wireless voice and broadband Internet services over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Cricket's nationwide wireless voice service plans include unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance, as well as a variety of calling features and feature-rich mobile applications such as popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif. For more information on Leap, visit www.leapwireless.com.

SOURCE Cricket Communications, Inc.