April 3, 2000
Dow Jones Newswires
Nextel Commun Plans Worldwide Cell Phone
Service
By NICOLE HARRIS
NEW YORK -- Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL), the wireless
communications company, is expected Monday to announce a new wireless
service that will enable customers to use one cell phone in most parts of the
world.
Currently U.S. and European wireless networks operate largely on
incompatible standards that make it challenging for Americans to use the same
phone at home and abroad. A few wireless companies, including those who
operate on GSM or global system for mobile communications, allow
customers to "roam" in different countries. However, they often require the
use of separate phones when traveling outside of a customer's "home"
country.
Nextel's new service, dubbed Nextel Worldwide, will enable globetrotters to
use one phone in more than 65 countries, including 18 of the world's top 25
markets. The service will provide flat rate per minute pricing based on the
country from which the calls originate.
For example, calls made from much of Europe will cost only 99 cents a
minute. Callers from Asia will pay $1.99 per minute. Users will receive one
phone number and one bill for the service. And they'll need a new digital cell
phone; models are priced from $249.
Nextel, in Reston, Va., provides its wireless service to five million subscribers,
mostly business customers. The company also boasts a distinctive technology:
Its phones have built-in "two-way" radios that enable work groups of as many
as 100 people to communicate at the touch of a button. |
