Nextel May Get $300 Mln From International Travelers, CFO Says
Bloomberg News
June 8, 1999, 7:04 p.m. ET
Nextel May Get $300 Mln From International Travelers, CFO Says
New York, June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Nextel Communications Inc.,
which operates a nationwide wireless-phone network with a two-way
radio feature, could realize $300 million in revenue from its new
i2000 worldwide phone, its chief financial officer said.
Customers renting trial versions of Motorola Inc.'s i2000
while traveling now are spending about $400 per trip, Nextel
CFO Steven Shindler said at a Paine Webber Inc. conference in New
York. Nextel estimates there are about 5 million international
travelers in the U.S., each making three trips per year, and that
it could attract about 5 percent of them to its service.
Nextel is one of three nationwide cellular carriers. Unlike
rivals Sprint PCS and AT&T Corp.'s wireless division, it caters
to business customers who spend more each month and are less
likely to leave the service because it also connects them to
their co-workers through a walkie-talkie-type feature. The
company is looking to international markets for growth.
Reston, Virginia-based Nextel has roaming agreements with 57
phone companies in 42 countries, and expects to have 60 in effect
by the time the i2000 is available in the fourth quarter,
Shindler said. Customers using the new phone will be able to use
one phone and one number worldwide, and will receive a single
bill for all their calls. The service will cover 17 of the
world's top 25 cities, he said.
The company also expects its cost per added subscriber to
decrease to about $350 in the next 18 months to two years, from
about $430 now, Shindler said. Part of that savings will come
from so-called ''over-the-air'' activation, which will let
customers turn service on through their phones' built-in Internet
connections and cut activation costs to about $20 from $35.
The i2000 won't have data and Internet-browsing
capabilities. Nextel's new i1000plus, now available in six test
markets, does have those features. Shindler said the company
hopes to get $5 to $10 in incremental monthly revenue from about
half of its customers once the i1000plus's data services are
rolled out nationwide.
Nextel fell 21/32 to 36 11/32. |
