Nextel Communications Inc. launched nationwide wireless priority service capabilities, providing authorized users with priority cellular service during times of emergency. The service moves authorized users, which typically include federal, state and local decision makers; law enforcement and public-safety officials; and select private sector leaders, to the front of the call queue during times of network congestion.
Nextel offers a similar service on its walkie-talkie Direct Connect feature that applies five levels of priority service to ensure that a Direct Connect call is routed to the recipient ahead of others during network congestion.
In an unrelated announcement, Nextel also reported that the government’s General Services Administration picked up the first option year renewal for its contract with Nextel. The original contract, which includes selling the full range of Nextel products and services to all federal agencies as well as state and local agencies with federal funding, was awarded in November 2002 and is valued at $1 billion over the two base years and three options years.
Nextel noted that the public sector accounted for approximately 25 percent of the carrier’s 550,000 net customer additions during the third quarter of this year.
Nextel also reported that its youth-oriented Boost Mobile prepaid operations surpassed the 1 million-subscriber mark. The service initially was launched in California and Nevada in late 2002 as a test program and was expanded earlier this year to the New York tri-state area, Philadelphia, Florida, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. The carrier further expanded the service in October to the Ohio Valley cities of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton; Pittsburgh; and parts of Michigan and Phoenix. It is available in 12 states covering 163 million potential customers.
