FROM THE HORSES MOUTH:
Breakthrough Wireless Network Offers Unprecedented Efficiency and Savings to Construction Industry
Business Wire via Dow Jones
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1997--
Nextel Builders Network Allows Companies to
Communicate Instantly with Suppliers
A new wireless network created exclusively for the construction industry is
providing unprecedented job-site efficiencies by connecting companies that work
on common projects on a single, integrated all-digital network.
The Nextel Builders Network, launched in the Northwest by Nextel
Communications Inc. (NASQAQ: NXTL), is a breakthrough for the construction
industry because communication plays such a vital role in managing complex
construction logistics. Already, more than 350 Northwest companies have signed
on.
Nextel's phones are ideal for the construction industry because they integrate
cellular, text and numeric paging, and two-way radio communications into one
phone. Using the two-way radio feature, called Nextel Direct Connect(sm),
participants in the Nextel Builders Network will be able to talk instantly with
builders, contractors, suppliers or other workers in their coverage area with
the push of a button. No dialing is necessary participants scroll through a
customized directory and then press one button to talk with other people on the
network.
"This is a 'now' business. When you're building, things have to happen now,
and when they don't, you're out of luck. The Nextel Builders Network has been a
real time saver for me. It's the superhighway of communications for the
construction industry," said Chris Elfving, construction manager of The Kehoe
Company, a Portland-based construction/development company specializing in
multi-family and single homes from Salem, Ore., to Vancouver, Wash.
"It just makes my days go so much faster. Before, it would sometimes take two
days to get a response from someone I needed to reach. With the Nextel Builders
Network, you're right there," said Kevin McLaughlin, production manager for MS
General, a Puyallup-based general contracting company handling construction
projects primarily in King and Pierce counties.
Perry Satterlee, president of Nextel's Pacific Northwest Area, said, "Anyone
who has ever delayed or been forced to delay a construction project because they
couldn't reach a key player knows the importance of communications. Nextel
Builders Network represents the most simple, cost-effective way to be in touch
with the people you need to grow your business."
In addition to efficient communications, cost savings can be seen on the phone
bill as well as at the job site. There are no roaming charges for calls made
anywhere on the Nextel National Network, which covers about 350 cities
nationwide, and digital cellular calls are rounded to the second after the first
minute.
Nextel Builders Network is part of Nextel Business Networks, a series of
networks that allow Nextel customers to communicate instantly and easily with
each other -- using Nextel Direct Connect -- at a fraction of the cost of
traditional cellular.
Nextel's Pacific Northwest coverage extends along the I-5 corridor from the
Canadian border to Cottage Grove, Ore., and in the greater Spokane/Coeur d'Alene
area. For more information about the Nextel Builders Network,
construction-related businesses can call 1/800-NEXTEL9.
Nextel Communications Inc., based in McLean, Va., is the nation's leading
provider of fully integrated wireless communications. Nextel's Pacific Northwest
headquarters is in Bellevue, Wash., with offices in Tacoma and Spokane, Wash.,
and Salem, Tualatin and Portland, Ore.
Nextel and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or servicemarks
of Nextel Communications Inc.
CONTACT: Laura Henderson Roger Nyhus
425/452-7514 206/720-1739
10:59 EST NOVEMBER 18, 1997
BW0089 NOV 18,1997 7:55 PACIFIC 10:55 EASTERN
:TICKER: NXTL
:SUBJECT: TLMB NPRD NJ UTIL
Copyright (c) 1997 Business Wire
Received by NewsEDGE/LAN: 11/18/97 12:13 PM |
