Nextel Cellular Phone Service, Ok for Some of Us!
Written: Mar 22 '01 (Updated Mar 23 '01)
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Pros: Reliable, private 24/7 two-way contact with other Nextel subscribers.
Cons: Expensive, for groups only, few free minute options.
The Bottom Line: A good two-way phone service for groups of persons subscribing to the same service. NOT for an individual who simply wants a cell phone for personal use.
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| tejones's Full Review: Nextel Mobile Phone Service in Nashville |
I’ve been a subscriber to Nextel cellular service for two years now, and have been fairly satisfied. The service allows free private two-way communication 24 hours per day to anyone else on the Nextel network, and is especially suitable for groups of persons who wish to stay in touch, especially businesses.
However, service with Nextel comes with conditions not common to other carriers which prospective customers should be aware of. Some of the downsides of their service are:
First, if you are switching companies, you cannot use you existing cellular phone as with most other companies; you must buy new equipment from Nextel. My two cell phones cost $100.00 each even though I already owned two Nokia phones. Ouch!
Second, there are no “free phone” plans such as those common with other cellular service providers who give the customer a phone at no cost in exchange for a minimum term of service contract.
Third, if you upgrade your rate plan with Nextel, as I did about six months ago, the company requires that you commit to a minimum term of service contract, even though the company is not out the cost of furnishing you a phone! I thought this was a little outrageous.
Fourth, dialing directory assistance (411) on any Nextel phone connects you directly to Nextel’s private directory assistance. Each call costs the customer a whopping .99 cents a call! (why didn't they just make it a dollar even?)
Finally, Nextel is not known for providing unlimited cellular service, as do its competitors on evenings and weekends. Most Nextel rate plans call for total minute restrictions, and the one available unlimited cell plan is very expensive.
When signing up for any Nextel service plan, the customer is offered the usual full range options of caller ID, call forwarding, call hold, call waiting, voice mail, etc. Each feature is competitively priced, and there is nothing remarkable here. Going over the allotted minutes for any rate plan will cost you, but the charges are no more severe than any of Nextel’s competitors.
Nextel cell phone service works like cell service anywhere. You simply dial, talk and hang up when done. The phone works anywhere in the country where you are in range of a Nextel cell tower. What is different about Nextel is its very purpose for being; the “private call” feature. The user presses a “mode” button that in effect turns the phone into a two-way radio. Anyone in the user's “group” can then be contacted, the service is free and unrestricted to all subscribers, and is available 24 hours daily, seven days a week.
The private network conversations are secure (digitally encrypted), and can be used anywhere in the country, even outside the customer’s normal service area. Any subscriber can call another subscriber in the same group on private mode, even if one is in New York and the other is in Los Angeles! The only requirement is that both subscribers be somewhere in Nextel’s private network area, which is not at large as cell coverage in general. Even though the private network service is limited primarily to urban areas, the size and location of the service areas have expanded astronomically in the past few years. When my wife travels the great distance to the mountains to visit her father I am in direct connection with her all the way there, and all the while she remains there, since the Nextel private network follows the interstate in her direction.
Nextel is in the process of updating its equipment so that all of its customers are on a single common group. Existing customers can bring their phones in for free reprogramming before April 31, 2001, so I would expect that new customers are already being programmed for the common private network group when signing up.
Finally, Nextel phones can connect to the Web for messaging. I have never needed to set up my phone for this feature, but sometimes I do send text messages to my phones from any email browser.
To summarize, Nextel is a good service, but the initial cost may be higher than with other companies. Also, this is not a premier free cell minutes company, and there is no real advantage to subscribing with them unless you primarily intend to talk with business associates or significant others who are on the same service. This usually means buying at least two, and possibly more phones! If your needs call for just one cell phone for personal telephone use, you would do better to go with a company offering more and cheaper cell minutes.
And finally, don’t get in the habit of using Nextel’s directory assistance; you'll be reminded of this on a monthly basis!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100.00
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Epinions.com ID:
tejones
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Member: Thomas Jones
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 11 members
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