Device Arena

This morning, the presidential campaign of Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama made wireless history when it announced via an SMS text message to supporters that Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Biden would be Obama’s pick for vice president. Traffic on Sprint’s (NYSE: S) short code for the Obama campaign rose 255 percent following the announcement, which was texted shortly after 3:00 a.m. EST.

This marks the first time that a presidential campaign has used an SMS text message to announce a vice presidential running mate. According to CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, more than 48 billion text messages were sent each month in the United States as of Dec. 2007.

“Sprint customers depend on us for information that is important to them - including real-time breaking news,” said Bob Azzi, Sprint senior vice president, Network Services. “Whether it’s getting the latest on politics, sports or business news or messages from family and friends, people rely on Sprint’s Now Network to get the information they want right as it happens.”

While Obama was the first to announce his vice presidential running mate, Sprint’s Now Network is standing by to help presidential campaign supporters of Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain share the news of his GOP running mate when the Arizona senator announces his pick later this month, whether they do so via voice, SMS text messaging, email or Nextel Direct Connect(R).

In addition, as previously announced by Sprint, Obama and McCain supporters will benefit from improved network coverage in Denver, site of next week’s Democratic National Convention, and in St. Paul, Minn., the site of next month’s Republican National Convention.

Sprint