Sprint Corp. hopes digital subscriber line self-install kits from its new partner Broadjump Inc. will help it gain subscribers in its battle with DSL competitors and cable firms. waiting times.

The partnership, announced Monday, lets customers install the high-speed service themselves, instead of waiting for a Sprint technician. Typically, the broadband service takes 40 to 60 days to install.

Greg Crosby, Sprint assistant vice president for broadband wireline product management, said the company wants to make it faster for customers to get broadband services.

"Until now, two of the barriers to rapidly rolling out residential broadband access were the cost of installation and the need to schedule an appointment during the workday for a field technician to enter the home," Crosby said. "We wanted to make it easier and cheaper for our customers to sign up for residential broadband access. Self-installation will enable us to increase productivity while reducing costs."

Lisa Zimmerman, Sprint spokesperson, said the kit will save the customer approximately $130 in installation costs and have subscribers up and running in about an hour.

"The software allows customers to install DSL completely on their own," Zimmerman said. "The other companies say they have self-install kits but are little more than installation manuals that you need to be pretty tech-savvy to install on your own. With us, the customer is mailed their DSL modem and a CD-ROM with the software that automatically checks the computer's system for compatibility. In less than an hour, they're up and running."

Broadjump's installation software suite monitors both Windows- or Mac-enabled computers for DSL compatibility and guides the user through the entire process. The software also works for cable and wireless Internet installation.

Kip McClanahan, Broadjump chief executive officer, said the company was born to help foster the broadband quick-connect boom.

McClanahan said the partnership with Sprint is the first step in its bid to provide their software suite for the 25 top telecommunications companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Sprint currently offers DSL service in Florida, North Carolina, Nevada and Virginia.