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To: Cooters who wrote (111181)	1/18/2002 9:22:08 PM
From: Cooters	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Nextel, IBM ally for wireless data; form outsourcing pact totaltele.com Nextel, IBM ally for wireless data; form outsourcing pact By Reuters staff 18 January 2002 Nextel Communications Inc., the nation's fifth-largest wireless operator, and IBM on Friday announced an alliance to develop mobile solutions for large U.S. corporations, as well as an eight-year, $1.2 billion customer service outsourcing agreement. The companies said in a joint statement that the outsourcing agreement is to manage Reston, Virginia-based Nextel's customer service, and International Business Machines Corp. will join with TeleTech Holdings Inc. to manage Nextel's six customer care centers. The transition of the centers will occur during the first quarter of 2002. Nextel said the two agreements are expected to reduce its future costs by more than $1 billion over the eight-year term, as well as boost revenues through the deployment of new wireless data services. It did not say how much in revenues the deal might add. IBM - which sells everything from personal computers to giant mainframe computers to computer services - will book the $1.2 billion as revenue and then pay TeleTech more than half the total to run the centers, an IBM spokeswoman said. IBM's efforts to grow computer services began in the mid-1990s and in recent quarters services revenue has overshadowed IBM's revenue from its traditional computer systems business as demand for new server computers, PCs and mainframes has slowed. Armonk, New York-based IBM said on Thursday when it announced earnings that services revenue declined during the fourth quarter, instead of rising, as analysts expected. Services revenues fell 1 percent because some of the contract signings it expected didn't occur until late in the quarter. It also said that its backlog of services orders grew to $102 billion. IBM said on Jan. 2 it won a $761 million, 10-year contract to run technology operations for PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. Last month, IBM signed a $700 million, 10-year services agreement with the National Bank of Canada and a $1.4 billion, 10-year technology services agreement with real estate firm Cendant Corp. The Nextel-IBM alliance agreement will pair Nextel's wireless technologies with IBM's global wireless e-business services in an effort to offer new wireless technologies that can be delivered through Nextel's national network. Nextel also will have access to new wireless technologies that may be developed in the future by IBM. Nextel's stock was up 9 cents at $8.72 in trading on the Nasdaq, while IBM's shares were off 5.3 percent, or $6.40, at $113.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.