Acadiana Business

Sprint, LUS Fiber join forces

by Leslie Turk

Collaborative program makes LUS Fiber business customers or current Sprint residential customers who use LUS Fiber's services eligible for a 10 percent discount on Sprint wireless service plans.

In what's being called a first-of-its-kind collaboration with a public utility, Sprint announced Monday that it has teamed up with LUS Fiber to provide wireless products and services to the customers of the community-owned network at discounted rates.

Officials said any qualified new or current LUS Fiber business customers or current Sprint residential customers who use LUS Fiber's services are eligible for 10 percent discounts on Sprint wireless service plans.

Business customers who buy equipment and services for their employees are eligible for additional savings, including:

·         waived activation fees

·         discounted device upgrades

·         20 percent discount on accessories at the time of activation

In announcing the program, Sprint said it's been impressed by LUS' fiber-to-the-home-and-business infrastructure and the city's foresight to bring that technology to local residents and businesses. Sprint added that it is also making investments in Lafayette, improving network performance in and around the area. "Sprint has upgraded its networks throughout Southwest Louisiana, and we expect to continue to build and improve facilities going forward," said Lori-Anne Hill, director of federal and public sector sales for Sprint. "This agreement affords Sprint the opportunity to collaborate with LUS Fiber to give them an edge in the competitive telecommunications marketplace."

Hill said this partnering also opens the door to other mutually beneficial business opportunities for Sprint and LUS.

"To have an internationally-acclaimed company like Sprint reach out to Lafayette to form this relationship is yet another testament to the value of Lafayette's investment in its fiber optic network," City-Parish President Joey Durel said in announcing the program. "Through LUS Fiber, we have already improved broadband capacity to every public school in Lafayette Parish, created a better and faster way for university faculty and students to share information and we have also seen new economic growth in our community."