Sprint's 1Million Project Aims To Help Underprivileged Youth Gain Mobile Access

Sprint Corp (NYSE: S) is in the process of starting a new initiative that aims to provide mobile devices and high-speed internet to over 1 million low-income high school students for free.

The new initiative is called the 1Million Project and will work through the Sprint Foundation. Sprint is looking to fill the gap between lower-income students and more economically advantaged students as high speed internet and mobile access becomes more essential to a student's performance.

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Sprint will work with nonprofits to identify students with insufficient access and provide device solutions for up to four years.

"Each student may receive either a free smartphone, tablet, laptop or hotspot device and 3GB of high-speed LTE data per month," according to a Sprint news release. Overages will hit unlimited data at 2G speeds if 3GB are used within the month's time.

The move is said to get the younger generation familiar with Sprint and build some goodwill to build loyalty toward the brand.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure summarized, "Through our participation in ConnectED, we heard loud and clear that students need devices and internet access to complete their homework. Sprint's 1Million Project is an end-to-end solution that enables 1 million low-income youth to keep learning after they leave the classroom."

Sprint shares climbed 0.75 percent Tuesday and were seen trading up 1.77 percent at $6.90 in Wednesday's pre-market.

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