Exhibit 99

[SPRINT LOGO]


Media Contacts:
Nicholas Sweers, Sprint, 913-794-3460
nicholas.sweers@mail.sprint.com

                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                Sprint Appoints New Member to Board of Directors


OVERLAND PARK,  Kan.,  Sept. 29, 2004 - Sprint (NYSE:  FON) today  announced the
appointment of William H. Swanson to the company's board of directors.

Swanson is chairman and CEO of Raytheon  Company,  an industry leader in defense
and government electronics,  space, information technology,  technical services,
and business and special  mission  aircraft.  Headquartered  in Waltham,  Mass.,
Raytheon employs 78,000 people worldwide with 2003 sales of $18.1 billion.

Before adding the  responsibilities of chairman to his position in January 2004,
Swanson was CEO and president of the company. Prior to that, he was president of
the company,  responsible  for  Raytheon's  government  and defense  operations.
Swanson  joined  Raytheon  in  1972  and has  held a wide  range  of  leadership
positions  across a broad spectrum of Raytheon's  business  units.  He graduated
magna cum laude from  California  Polytechnic  State  University  and  performed
graduate work in business administration at Golden Gate University.

"We are very  pleased to add Bill  Swanson to the  board.  He is an  outstanding
leader and brings  extraordinary  talent, depth and experience in such key areas
as technology,  operations and national  defense and security,"  said Linda Koch
Lorimer, chair of Sprint's nominating and corporate governance committee. "These
assets will greatly complement and add value to the Sprint board."

In addition to his professional experience,  Swanson also is a member of several
leading public, private and government boards and associations.

With the appointment of Swanson,  the Sprint board stands at 11 directors.  Nine
of the 11 directors  are  independent  based on the board's 2004  determination.
Gary Forsee,  Sprint chairman and chief executive officer,  is the only employee
director.

Sprint's other directors include: DuBose Ausley, attorney,  Ausley & McMullen, a
law firm in Tallahassee,  Fla., where he was chairman from 1982 to June 1, 2002;
Gordon Bethune, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines; E.
Linn Draper,  Jr.,  retired  chairman of American  Electric Power Co. Inc (AEP);
Deborah  Henretta,  president of global baby and adult care division,  Procter &
Gamble;  Irvine O. Hockaday,  Jr., retired president and chief executive officer
of Hallmark Cards, Inc.; Linda Koch Lorimer, vice president and secretary of the
university,  Yale  University;  Charles E.  Rice,  chairman  of Mayport  Venture
Partners, LLC and former vice chairman of Bank of America Corporation;  Louis W.
Smith,  retired  president  and chief  executive  officer  of the  Ewing  Marion
Kauffman Foundation; and Gerald L. Storch, vice chairman of Target Corporation.

For   more   information   about   the   Sprint   board  of   directors,   visit
www.sprint.com/ir/cg/bod2.html.



About Sprint
Sprint  is a global  integrated  communications  provider  serving  more than 26
million  customers in over 100  countries.  With more than $26 billion in annual
revenues in 2003,  Sprint is widely  recognized for developing,  engineering and
deploying  state-of-the-art  network technologies,  including the United States'
first nationwide  all-digital,  fiber-optic  network and an award-winning Tier 1
Internet backbone.  Sprint provides local  communications  services in 39 states
and the  District of Columbia  and  operates  the largest  100-percent  digital,
nationwide  PCS wireless  network in the United  States.  For more  information,
visit www.sprint.com.