RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. announced Nextel Worldwide, the company’s first service and dual-mode handset providing customers with worldwide technological compatibility on one phone, using one phone number.
Subscribers of Nextel Worldwide will use the i2000 dual-mode handset from Motorola Inc. The i2000 works on both integrated Digital Enhanced Network and Global System for Mobile communication networks, allowing wireless access in more than 65 countries, Nextel said.
“Customers now have access throughout the world to the same wireless service and features they have come to expect here in the U.S.,” said Tom Kelly, executive vice president of marketing and strategic planning for Nextel.
Nextel Worldwide offers flat-rate per-minute pricing based on the country from which customers are calling. Rates range from 99 cents per minute for most of Europe, $1.99 per minute for Asia, South America and the Mideast, and $2.99-$4.99 per minute for select countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
Nextel Worldwide service customers will pay an additional $5 per month on their Nextel domestic service plan, but the $5 fee will be waived for all customers who sign up before June 30, Nextel said.
“When customers want to call out, they simply press and hold `zero’ to get international access, then dial the phone number they need,” said Kelly.
The i2000 handset is priced at $349, with an introductory promotional price of $249. The handset features Nextel’s two-way radio function, Direct Connect; a built-in speaker phone for hands-free calling; text/numeric paging; caller ID; voice mail; and three-way calling, among other features.
Customer service calls are free and can be made from anywhere in the world, Nextel said.
