@jbtaylor on tech

Most people don't realize it but nearly 1 in 5 residents of Washington, D.C. live at or below the Federal poverty line. Today's I've got some good news for those folks: Assurance Wireless is now available in D.C. (We launched in Maryland and Virginia last year, so now we've got the whole Washington, D.C. metro area covered.)

Assurance provides low income people with a free cell phone and 250 free minutes each month. There is an application process, but generally you will qualify if you're already participating in other public assistance programs like Section 8, LIHEAP, SSI, SNAP, foodstamps, TANF, etc. You may also qualify based simply on your family's household income.

To learn more or to find out if you qualify, visit www.AssuranceWireless.com or call 800.395.2171.

If you know you don't qualify, chances are you know someone who is struggling in this economy. Give them a heads up that Assurance is out there. Or better yet, if you're a reporter in D.C., do a story that will actually help people who are struggling in this economy. (Email me and I can help: john.b.taylor@sprint.com.)

In addition to Washington, D.C., Assurance is also available in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.

It's official. Sprint has begun offering Sprint 4G in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia.

We announced it with a midnight news release a few minutes ago. We also launched Sprint 4G in Los Angeles, South Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach), Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Plus, we announced that we will begin offering Sprint 4G in San Francisco on Dec. 28.

Locally you can get a Sprint 4G signal as far south as Ft. Belvoir & Newington, as far east as Annapolis, as far west as Manassas & Leesburg, and as far north as Germantown & Columbia. Sprint 4G is found in all parts of D.C., including neighborhoods like Georgetown, Anacostia, Logan Circle, Dupont, Adams-Morgan, Southwest, Downtown, Capitol Hill, Cleveland Park, Brookland, Petworth and Columbia Heights.

Areas inside the Beltway (like Annandale, Alexandria, Arlington, Shirlington, Falls Church and Bethesda and Silver Spring are covered) but so are communities outside the Beltway (like Reston, Herndon, Lanham, Gaithersburg, Tysons Corner, National Harbor and Largo.)

Over the coming months, you will see more areas covered as new 4G cell sites come on line in the metro area. 

For coverage maps visit Sprint.com. You may also want to visit Sprint.com/4G for more details about our offering.