Fred,
I don't really see how this is any different from being able to send a text message to my pager "7-digit#"@skytel.com. Is it just a volume usage thing? Commment.
Kevin
McLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1999--
-- Messaging Service From Wireless Services Reaches
Milestone After One Year of Active Service, Highlighting
Growing Demand for Text Messaging --
Wireless Services Corporation and Nextel Communications (Nasdaq:NXTL) today announced more than one million wireless Internet
messages were delivered to Nextel subscribers in the month of February -- the greatest number of messages delivered in any month to
date after a year of active service.
"The demand for our Internet-based text paging is soaring," said Steve Wood, president and CEO of Wireless Services. "The Internet
is the goose that laid the golden egg -- driving a whole new crop of products and services that are being snatched up by
convenience-hungry consumers."
The advanced messaging market is expected to see triple-digit annual growth between now and the year 2001, with the number of
subscribers peaking at 17 million that year, according to a Frost & Sullivan analysis of the U.S. narrowband messaging market.
"Customers are demanding an efficient way to instantly receive text messages," said Tom Kelly, Nextel's chief marketing officer.
"Logging onto their laptops isn't convenient for busy, time-starved professionals. Wireless Services allows us to offer our customers an
Internet paging service using the handsets they already own. It benefits the customers and it benefits us because we can easily satisfy
the growing demand for convenient text/numeric paging."
The service works like this: Wireless Services' AirNote(R) system provides a gateway that allows the delivery of text messages to
Nextel phones from any personal computer with access to the Internet, simply by addressing the message to any 10-digit Nextel
telephone number. The sender can also receive notification that their message was delivered by logging onto Nextel's online paging
center. Notification can be received at the web site or sent to the sender's Nextel phone or any email address. Nextel is the only
wireless telephone network in the country to offer message delivery status notification.
"We always want to offer our customers the most innovative services," said Kelly. "The wireless phone industry is flooded with
competitors and we have to do everything we can to provide better services and more options. Wireless Services has given our
company just that -- better service and more options for our customers."
About Nextel Communications
Nextel Communications, based in McLean, Va., is the leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications and has built the
largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the United States that covers 92 of the top 100 U.S. markets. The Nextel National
Network offers a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular, text/numeric paging and Nextel Direct Connect(sm)
-- a digital two-way radio feature. In addition, through Nextel International, Inc., Nextel has wireless operations and investments in
Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, Peru, Japan and Shanghai, China. Visit Nextel's web site at nextel.com
About Wireless Services
Founded in 1996, Wireless Services Corp. focuses on providing applications and information services to wireless carriers and the
business community. Wireless Services' key expertise includes wireless technology, Internet communications, and database and
computer server solutions. The company's flagship service is AirNote(R), a wireless e-mail service which delivers Internet mail across
paging and digital telephone networks in the United States. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. For more information,
visit Wireless Services' web site at wirelesscorp.com
Nextel and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc.
AirNote is a registered trademark of Wireless Services Corporation.
CONTACT: Nextel Communications, Inc.
Media: Ben Banta, 703/394-3573
Investors: Paul Blalock, 703/394-3500
or
The KMC Group
Stacy Hendricks, 425/450-9965 |
