Get a boat load of this.
Wednesday April 22, 1:37 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
It's Smooth Sailing With The Nextel Boaters Network,
Marine Reports and Information at the Touch of a Button
with Nextel
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1998--News on whale sightings, fishing
reports and other marine information is now available to boating enthusiasts at the touch of a button
with the Nextel Boaters Network.
The network, officially launched this year, connects boaters, marine supply stores and other users of
Nextel's digital wireless phones with its unique Nextel Direct Connect(SM) two-way radio feature.
With a press of a button users can contact other boaters and marine businesses to check on the
weather and fishing conditions, secure moorage, get a quick answer about marine electronics, or
just share a story about ''the one that got away.'' More than 200 users already make up the
network, with membership nearly doubling each month.
''What attracts people more than anything is the Nextel Direct Connect two-way radio feature. I
can be in the Columbia River and talk with someone near the San Juan Islands,'' said Bob
McLaughlin, host of Seattle radio station KVI's ''On the Water'' program and an inspiration for the
network. ''It's the best cell phone that I've used in regards to coverage and reliability, and the
two-way communication makes it even better.''
Digital coverage extends from southern Puget Sound north to the Canadian border including such
popular boating areas as Lake Washington, the central Sound, Hood Canal, Admiralty Inlet, and
the San Juans. Farther south, Nextel Boaters Network members can communicate on the Columbia
River throughout the Columbia bar and along the popular boating areas from Longview to east of
Vancouver.
In addition to Nextel Direct Connect, Nextel phones offer digital cellular, text/numeric paging and
voice mail. Nextel customers do not pay roaming fees, benefiting from the Nextel National Network
-- the nation's largest wireless network that provides fully integrated, guaranteed all-digital wireless
service. Plus, Nextel customers' digital cellular calls are rounded to the second after the first minute.
Locally, the Nextel National Network extends along the I-5 corridor from the Canadian border to
Eugene, Ore., and the Inland Northwest, including Spokane and northern Idaho |
