Nextel Communications
Encyclopedia
Nextel Communications, commonly styled NEXTEL and formerly traded on the NASDAQ
as NXTL, now a part of the Sprint Nextel Corporation, was a United States telecommunications firm operating a nationwide push to talk
mobile communications system. Unlike other mobile networks, the Nextel network operated in the Specialized Mobile Radio
band using iDEN
technology from Motorola
. Nextel was one of the first providers in the United States to offer a national digital cellular coverage footprint.
Nextel had over twenty million subscribers in the United States, and by 2006 the company said it served 198 of the top 200 markets. Nextel offered prepaid services through the Boost Mobile
brand.
Nextel was headquartered in Reston
, a community in unincorporated
Fairfax County
, Virginia
, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
.
, a telecommunication lawyer, and Brian McAuley. The company changed its name to Nextel Communications in 1993. In 1995, wireless industry pioneer Craig McCaw
became a significant investor in the company. Mark Warner
, now a United States Senator from Virginia, and Jack Markell, the current Governor of Delaware, were also early investors.
The company was originally named FleetCall because it used frequencies designated by the Federal Communications Commission
for use in fleet
dispatch. The core of the business model was to buy these fleet dispatch frequencies at a substantial discount to the cost for the same bandwidth in designated frequencies set aside and being auctioned for wireless telephone service. These "non-cellular" frequencies were made usable for a consumer and business wireless voice telephone service with the iDEN
technology developed by Motorola
, which some observers initially said would not be practical. Initially, FleetCall did not want to include the push to talk
feature in their phones, but the FCC required it as the initial frequencies were licensed for dispatch use. Subsequently, Nextel used the feature as a key marketing advantage.
band, and Nextel was one of the first providers in the United States to offer a national digital cellular coverage footprint. The company was the first in the United States to integrate global positioning system
features into their phones and to complete their 2Cock network upgrade.
Nextel was also an industry leader in customer lifecycle management
. They invested significantly in analytics capability, which allowed them to surpass their competitors in handling customer concerns effectively. The company also developed capabilities allowing it to assess and review customer relationship values objectively and to project and respond to customer loyalty
. As a result of these efforts, and what was reported to be a strong focus on customer satisfaction across the organization, Nextel was known for industry leading customer retention rates, average revenue per user
, and customer lifetime value
.
, on both equipment and standards. The close relationship had yielded the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
(iDEN) protocol, which uses a time division multiple access
technology. Some of the special features the company utilized included its push-to-talk feature, which simulated the half-duplex operation of a two-way
radio. Nextel was one of the few carriers to have adopted iDEN
around the world, although the technology has gained traction through NII Holdings
in Latin America
. As well, iDEN is utilized in the Southeast United States by SouthernLINC Wireless
and in Canada by Telus
under the Mike Mobile
brand.
and Sprint PCS each launched push-to-talk features, with Cingular following in 2005; none have gained significant traction. Nextel and Verizon had entered a legal battle in June 2003 over Verizon's advertising for their push-to-talk feature. The companies reached a settlement in early 2004. Initial advertising for Verizon's service was heavy, but it became almost nonexistent fairly quickly that may have been due to poor reviews of the service.
The push-to-talk feature, with which Nextel has gained popularity, was made interoperable with the QChat
technology on the Sprint network in 2008. Sprint had originally launched its own push-to-talk service, known as ReadyLink
, which is based on SIP
. Due to the difference in technology, users of the ReadyLink service were never able to make or receive push-to-talk calls with users of the iDEN technology. By 2009, Sprint began phasing out QChat
to again focus on marketing iDEN
devices.
Nextel also offers a feature on some of their phones, marketed as DirectTalk
. The technology uses the 900 MHz ISM band
and provides ten FHSS
channels for off network push to talk communications between individual phones that are not necessarily in range of wireless towers.
network. It was reportedly to use an extension to iDEN called WiDEN
, developed by Motorola. Nextel upgraded their network to support the WiDEN
packet data protocol, increasing data speeds up to 90 kbit/s. The Motorola i850, i860, i870, and i880 were the only phones to support WiDEN without modification. In October 2005, in order to free up network capacity for cellular calls due to rebanding, Sprint removed the ability to connect to the WiDEN service from all Nextel towers.
Following the acquisition of Nextel by Sprint
, future plans for Nextel included migrating iDEN
customers to CDMA at some point in the years after the acquisition was completed. The merger closed in late 2005. Initially, there was much speculation that current Nextel subscribers would be required to replace their existing handsets due to incompatibility between the standards used on the separate Nextel and Sprint networks. Sprint initially marketed hybrid devices that operated on both Nextel and Sprint networks, but has since discontinued selling the phones. Sprint also marketed, for a time, Sprint devices utilizing QChat
for compatibility with the Nextel push-to-talk network, which was also being phased out by 2009.
All phones on the Nextel network are manufactured by Motorola
and Research In Motion
. However this has changed, and more and more Sanyo and Samsung phones appear on the Sprint Nextel network.
Before rebanding, Public Safety, Business/Industrial, SMR and ESMR's both operate in the 851-861 MHz range. ESMR has exclusive use of the 861-866 MHz range, and Public Safety has exclusive use of the 866-869 MHz range.
During rebanding the following will occur:
- All licensees with channels between 866-869 MHz (NPSPAC) must relocate to equivalent channels between 851-854.
- All licensees other than ESMRs with channels between 851-854 MHz must relocate to equivalent channels between 854-862.
- Nextel and other ESMR operators must relinquish all channels below 862 MHz. The FCC has required Nextel to vacate all its channels in the band from 854-854.5 nationwide as soon as possible to provide additional spectrum for Public Safety needs.
- Public Safety has exclusive access to all vacated Nextel channels for 3 years, after which they are open to all eligible users.
After rebanding, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure will have exclusive use of 851-854 MHz. ESMR systems (primarily Nextel) will have exclusive use of 862-869 MHz range, and public safety, business/industrial users, and low-power SMR's will share the 854-862 MHz spectrum. 860-861 MHz is designated as an "Expansion Band", and 861-862 MHz is designated as a "Guard Band". No licensees other than ESMR are required to relocate to channels above 860 MHz.
The use of contiguous spectrum allows for simple filters to be installed to protect public safety radio systems from interference, which is currently impossible under the existing mixed allocations in the 800 MHz band.
Nextel (Sprint) is paying for much of the cost of this reconfiguration, but in compensation for lost 800 MHz spectrum, the company is receiving spectrum in the 2 GHz band at 1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz. This spectrum is near the existing Sprint PCS allocations and can be used to expand the number of channels available for that service, without needing to bid for additional capacity in a spectrum auction.
organizer NASCAR
announced a sponsorship agreement by which NASCAR's top racing series would be called the Nextel Cup starting in 2004; the series was formerly the Winston Cup. The series was renamed NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2008, in co-ordinance with Sprint Nextel's announced plans to phase out the Nextel name by 2010. Nextel was also a major sponsor of the now defunct ChampCar
team PacWest Racing
, which was owned by Craig McCaw
's brother Bruce.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
as NXTL, now a part of the Sprint Nextel Corporation, was a United States telecommunications firm operating a nationwide push to talk
Push to talk
Push-to-talk , also known as Press-to-Transmit, is a method of conversing on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode....
mobile communications system. Unlike other mobile networks, the Nextel network operated in the Specialized Mobile Radio
Specialized Mobile Radio
Specialized Mobile Radio may be an analog or digital trunked two-way radio system, operated by a service in the VHF, 220, UHF, 700, 800 or 900 MHz bands. Some systems with advanced features are referred to as an Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio, . Specialized Mobile Radio is a term defined...
band using iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
technology from Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. Nextel was one of the first providers in the United States to offer a national digital cellular coverage footprint.
Nextel had over twenty million subscribers in the United States, and by 2006 the company said it served 198 of the top 200 markets. Nextel offered prepaid services through the Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
brand.
Nextel was headquartered in Reston
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
, a community in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
History
The predecessor to Nextel, known as FleetCall, was founded in 1987 by Morgan O'BrienMorgan E. O'Brien
Morgan Edward O'Brien , chairman of Cyren Call Communications, is a pioneer in U.S. wireless telecommunications. As the co-founder and chairman of Nextel Communications, Inc...
, a telecommunication lawyer, and Brian McAuley. The company changed its name to Nextel Communications in 1993. In 1995, wireless industry pioneer Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
became a significant investor in the company. Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
, now a United States Senator from Virginia, and Jack Markell, the current Governor of Delaware, were also early investors.
The company was originally named FleetCall because it used frequencies designated by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
for use in fleet
Fleet vehicles
Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business or government agency, rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples are vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, public utilities, public bus companies, and police departments...
dispatch. The core of the business model was to buy these fleet dispatch frequencies at a substantial discount to the cost for the same bandwidth in designated frequencies set aside and being auctioned for wireless telephone service. These "non-cellular" frequencies were made usable for a consumer and business wireless voice telephone service with the iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
technology developed by Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, which some observers initially said would not be practical. Initially, FleetCall did not want to include the push to talk
Push to talk
Push-to-talk , also known as Press-to-Transmit, is a method of conversing on half-duplex communication lines, including two-way radio, using a momentary button to switch from voice reception mode to transmit mode....
feature in their phones, but the FCC required it as the initial frequencies were licensed for dispatch use. Subsequently, Nextel used the feature as a key marketing advantage.
Innovations and technologies
Nextel affected the cellular phone market in several ways. It was the first company to successfully provide unlimited calling plans to a large customer base. Nextel was the first company to implement a nationwide push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, marketed as DirectConnect. Unlike other cellular networks, the Nextel network operated in the Specialized Mobile RadioSpecialized Mobile Radio
Specialized Mobile Radio may be an analog or digital trunked two-way radio system, operated by a service in the VHF, 220, UHF, 700, 800 or 900 MHz bands. Some systems with advanced features are referred to as an Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio, . Specialized Mobile Radio is a term defined...
band, and Nextel was one of the first providers in the United States to offer a national digital cellular coverage footprint. The company was the first in the United States to integrate global positioning system
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
features into their phones and to complete their 2Cock network upgrade.
Nextel was also an industry leader in customer lifecycle management
Customer lifecycle management
Customer Lifecycle Management, or CLM is the measurement of multiple customer related metrics, which, when analyzed for a period of time, indicate performance of a business...
. They invested significantly in analytics capability, which allowed them to surpass their competitors in handling customer concerns effectively. The company also developed capabilities allowing it to assess and review customer relationship values objectively and to project and respond to customer loyalty
Loyalty business model
The loyalty business model is a business model used in strategic management in which company resources are employed so as to increase the loyalty of customers and other stakeholders in the expectation that corporate objectives will be met or surpassed...
. As a result of these efforts, and what was reported to be a strong focus on customer satisfaction across the organization, Nextel was known for industry leading customer retention rates, average revenue per user
Average revenue per user
Average revenue per user usually abbreviated to ARPU is a measure used primarily by consumer communications and networking companies, defined as the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers....
, and customer lifetime value
Customer lifetime value
-Definition of Customer Lifetime Value:In marketing, customer lifetime value , lifetime customer value , or lifetime value is the net present value of the cash flows attributed to the relationship with a customer...
.
iDEN
Nextel had long worked closely with a single vendor, MotorolaMotorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, on both equipment and standards. The close relationship had yielded the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone...
(iDEN) protocol, which uses a time division multiple access
Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
technology. Some of the special features the company utilized included its push-to-talk feature, which simulated the half-duplex operation of a two-way
Two-way
Two-way, two way, 2-way, or 2way may refer to:* Two-way communication occurs when information flows in both directions between two parties** Two-way radio...
radio. Nextel was one of the few carriers to have adopted iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
around the world, although the technology has gained traction through NII Holdings
NII Holdings
NII Holdings Inc. , a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., provides mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII, which operates under the Nextel brand, has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru and offers fully integrated wireless communications...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. As well, iDEN is utilized in the Southeast United States by SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless is a regional iDEN carrier providing coverage in areas of the south east United States including southeast Mississippi, all Alabama, all Georgia, and the Florida panhandle...
and in Canada by Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
under the Mike Mobile
Mike (cellular network)
Mike is a Canadian mobile phone and push-to-talk network, launched in 1996 using the proprietary iDEN platform from Motorola. The network was initially launched by Clearnet in the Windsor to Québec corridor, while its roll-out in western Canada followed in 1997...
brand.
Push to talk
Nextel gained a significant marketing and technological advantage through its push-to-talk technology. In 2003, Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
and Sprint PCS each launched push-to-talk features, with Cingular following in 2005; none have gained significant traction. Nextel and Verizon had entered a legal battle in June 2003 over Verizon's advertising for their push-to-talk feature. The companies reached a settlement in early 2004. Initial advertising for Verizon's service was heavy, but it became almost nonexistent fairly quickly that may have been due to poor reviews of the service.
The push-to-talk feature, with which Nextel has gained popularity, was made interoperable with the QChat
QChat
QChat is a Push-to-Talk technology developed by Qualcomm.The QChat software application was developed by Qualcomm Internet Services a division of Qualcomm and part of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group...
technology on the Sprint network in 2008. Sprint had originally launched its own push-to-talk service, known as ReadyLink
ReadyLink
ReadyLink was a "walkie-talkie" service, which used Session Initiation Protocol , offered by the Sprint Nextel Corporation. It was necessary to have a Sanyo or a Samsung ReadyLink capable phone and a matching service-plan in order to use this feature...
, which is based on SIP
Session Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
. Due to the difference in technology, users of the ReadyLink service were never able to make or receive push-to-talk calls with users of the iDEN technology. By 2009, Sprint began phasing out QChat
QChat
QChat is a Push-to-Talk technology developed by Qualcomm.The QChat software application was developed by Qualcomm Internet Services a division of Qualcomm and part of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group...
to again focus on marketing iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
devices.
Nextel also offers a feature on some of their phones, marketed as DirectTalk
MOTO Talk
MOTO Talk is a feature on some Motorola iDEN cellular phone handsets which allows users to make short-range 'push-to-talk' calls to other such handsets without being on the iDEN network. This feature goes by different names on iDEN service providers. In the US, Nextel calls it 'DirectTalk' and...
. The technology uses the 900 MHz ISM band
ISM band
The industrial, scientific and medical radio bands are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than communications....
and provides ten FHSS
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency channels, using a pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver...
channels for off network push to talk communications between individual phones that are not necessarily in range of wireless towers.
WiDEN
In 2003, prior to its merger with Sprint, Nextel had announced plans for its next generation 3G3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
network. It was reportedly to use an extension to iDEN called WiDEN
WiDEN
Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, or WiDEN, is a software upgrade developed by Motorola for its iDEN enhanced specialized mobile radio wireless telephony protocol. WiDEN allows compatible subscriber units to communicate across four 25 kHz channels combined, for up to 100 kbit/s...
, developed by Motorola. Nextel upgraded their network to support the WiDEN
WiDEN
Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, or WiDEN, is a software upgrade developed by Motorola for its iDEN enhanced specialized mobile radio wireless telephony protocol. WiDEN allows compatible subscriber units to communicate across four 25 kHz channels combined, for up to 100 kbit/s...
packet data protocol, increasing data speeds up to 90 kbit/s. The Motorola i850, i860, i870, and i880 were the only phones to support WiDEN without modification. In October 2005, in order to free up network capacity for cellular calls due to rebanding, Sprint removed the ability to connect to the WiDEN service from all Nextel towers.
Sprint acquisition
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, future plans for Nextel included migrating iDEN
Iden
For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox"....
customers to CDMA at some point in the years after the acquisition was completed. The merger closed in late 2005. Initially, there was much speculation that current Nextel subscribers would be required to replace their existing handsets due to incompatibility between the standards used on the separate Nextel and Sprint networks. Sprint initially marketed hybrid devices that operated on both Nextel and Sprint networks, but has since discontinued selling the phones. Sprint also marketed, for a time, Sprint devices utilizing QChat
QChat
QChat is a Push-to-Talk technology developed by Qualcomm.The QChat software application was developed by Qualcomm Internet Services a division of Qualcomm and part of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group...
for compatibility with the Nextel push-to-talk network, which was also being phased out by 2009.
All phones on the Nextel network are manufactured by Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
and Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
. However this has changed, and more and more Sanyo and Samsung phones appear on the Sprint Nextel network.
Radio interference
Nextel towers in the United States have caused radio interference with commercial and public safety trunked and conventional 800 MHz two-way radio systems. To resolve the problems, Nextel and the Federal Communications Commission developed a plan, approved by the FCC in August 2004, to relocate Nextel systems elsewhere in the 800 MHz band in order to reduce the potential for interference.Before rebanding, Public Safety, Business/Industrial, SMR and ESMR's both operate in the 851-861 MHz range. ESMR has exclusive use of the 861-866 MHz range, and Public Safety has exclusive use of the 866-869 MHz range.
During rebanding the following will occur:
- All licensees with channels between 866-869 MHz (NPSPAC) must relocate to equivalent channels between 851-854.
- All licensees other than ESMRs with channels between 851-854 MHz must relocate to equivalent channels between 854-862.
- Nextel and other ESMR operators must relinquish all channels below 862 MHz. The FCC has required Nextel to vacate all its channels in the band from 854-854.5 nationwide as soon as possible to provide additional spectrum for Public Safety needs.
- Public Safety has exclusive access to all vacated Nextel channels for 3 years, after which they are open to all eligible users.
After rebanding, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure will have exclusive use of 851-854 MHz. ESMR systems (primarily Nextel) will have exclusive use of 862-869 MHz range, and public safety, business/industrial users, and low-power SMR's will share the 854-862 MHz spectrum. 860-861 MHz is designated as an "Expansion Band", and 861-862 MHz is designated as a "Guard Band". No licensees other than ESMR are required to relocate to channels above 860 MHz.
The use of contiguous spectrum allows for simple filters to be installed to protect public safety radio systems from interference, which is currently impossible under the existing mixed allocations in the 800 MHz band.
Nextel (Sprint) is paying for much of the cost of this reconfiguration, but in compensation for lost 800 MHz spectrum, the company is receiving spectrum in the 2 GHz band at 1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz. This spectrum is near the existing Sprint PCS allocations and can be used to expand the number of channels available for that service, without needing to bid for additional capacity in a spectrum auction.
Major sponsorships
In 2003, Nextel and stock car racingStock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
organizer NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
announced a sponsorship agreement by which NASCAR's top racing series would be called the Nextel Cup starting in 2004; the series was formerly the Winston Cup. The series was renamed NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2008, in co-ordinance with Sprint Nextel's announced plans to phase out the Nextel name by 2010. Nextel was also a major sponsor of the now defunct ChampCar
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
team PacWest Racing
PacWest Racing
PacWest Racing was a Champ Car racing team owned by Bruce McCaw founded in 1993. The team's first full time season was the next year, 1994, with drivers Dominic Dobson and future Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp...
, which was owned by Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
's brother Bruce.