Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel - Gizmodo Comments

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

DtroitPunk — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:35:21 EDT

GEEEZ! There are some Nextel HATERS here! I switched from T-Mobile to Nextel over 3 years ago, T-Mobile was giving me free phones and service without deposits, but the service and the phones SUCKED!!! My wife and I wanted Nextel because we had always thought the Direct Connect feature (PTT) was really cool. We switched to Nextel and have been EXTREMELY happy. I have had in 3 years only 2 dropped calls, PTT works like 98% of the time and doesnt couunt against our minutes.

I cant help but wonder if the SOME of the people who hate Nextel and PTT users arent just jealous?

Maybe some of them couldnt get service with Nextel? Nextel has one of the strictest Credit requirements of all the major providers. I had to pay a $50 deposit on each line of service and have a spending limit on my acct. After 1 year of timely payments my deposits were refunded to me Via a billing credit. I was willing to do this because I knew that the service was worth it.

Too many people think all providers are the same and are unwilling to pay for anything that they can get for free. I am NOT opposed to paying more for substantially better service. Here in Central Indiana, we are quite pleased with Nextel indeed.

DtroitPunk

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

radiomanx1 — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:49:44 EDT

Actually Ready-Link does not work great. I have never seen a Legacy sprint employee use ready-link and when I got my ready link phone handed to me not one person knew how to use it, us legacy Nextel folks had to figure it out on our own! To this day I have never seen any employee use ready link but many of many are using PTT. Myself and two others, one locally and another on the west coast tried to give ready-link a run for its money. We put down our iDEN phones and used only ready-link for 3 full weeks. After using it for 3 full weeks I can tell you it does not even come close to iDEN PTT service. 25% of the time I have to wait as long at 16 seconds to get a connection. For the most part the set up time was about 1 to 3 seconds, not 250 ms or less like in iDEN. I put down my ready-link phone and have never touched it again. My CDMA phone I use almost every day is a Moto Raz and my iDEN phone is a i930. I don't play the iDEN VS CDMA game, a network is a network and they both do thing very well, just one may do something better than the other from time to time.

radiomanx1

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

radiomanx1 — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:29:10 EDT

OK I have read all the comments and I have to toss all the myths.
1) iDEN network is old - False. The hardware in all of the iDEN sites and at the switches nation wide is less than 4 years old. While on the CDMA side there are sites with hardware that is getting close to 8 years old. This is a fact, how do I know - I work on the stuff every darn day!

2) iDEN phone have less coverage. False - The actual iDEN foot print is larger than the current CDMA foot print and we have been spending cash building CDMA sites to match the iDEN foot print. Also the the laws of physics state that the band that US domestic iDEN works on is better for building coverage etc. 800 MHz works better then 1.9 GHz. Also and iDEN cell site can cover an area of 125 miles were CDMA is limited to a max of 36 miles. Thus you have to build more CDMA sites to match the same area and iDEN can cover.

Before people start posting here you should get your facts correct!

radiomanx1

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

peterfnet — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:22:38 EDT

I recently got Nextel, and I love it. I have the new i335 phone. It's something they should've done a long time ago. It's not a horrible blocky phone.

But I use this in addition to my ATT Tilt. Most dispatchers, police, and first responders I serve with use nextel since it is extremely efficient and fast. And there is Widen. The network is not that obsolete. I swear, if sprint messes this up for me, I'll get upset. How about sprint keeps nextel as it is, but sell "chips" that can be added to other phones to integrate the PTT?

peterfnet

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Chris0401 — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:56:44 EDT

Yeah, I don't know how sprint could've afforded Nextel at the time of the merger. Seeing as how they sucked ass then like they still suck ass now. They actually brought Nextel down, and now are gonna leave to burn on it's own. What would be funny, if they did spin it off, and it turns around on them...

Chris0401

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Ghinn — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:59:30 EDT

I work for a delivery company, as the guy that manages all our nextel radios (~400). I understand the need for PTT (helps dispatchers get in touch with couriers, etc.), but I hate snextel with a fiery passion. Not a day goes by I don't have to call and be put on hold. And god forbid you call about a nextel issue and get a sprint person. If any other company (I'm looking at you, T-Mobile) offered a good PTT service (readylink never took off the way DirectConnect did), nextel would have died long ago. This merger was awful, and I hope nextel takes sprint down with it. Also the majority of the moto iden phones suck ass.

Ghinn

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

bms — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:32:21 EDT

Not really sure wh@parad0x360: I hear ya. Sprint came out with their own ReadyLink (push to talk feature) about a year before they bought Nextel. This was not a popular option and only available on a handful of phones. I was confused about the purchase, but it someone explained that it made sense so Sprint could increase their network. I was skeptical.

bms

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Isoko — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:26:55 EDT

Does anyone know how this might affect other countries with Nextel service. I live in Mexico, right on the border, and I have a contract with the mexican side. If Nextel USA goes down, think they might drag the other countries serice with them?

Thanks in advance

Isoko

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Archavious — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:05:32 EDT

I dont see what the problem with Nextel is.
1) PTT is the greates thing since cellphones.
2) Noone text messages me, ever.
3) My entire work and family are on a Nextel Plan so I am able to talk with everyone without using minute plans
4) Their phones take a beating.

Archavious

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Dook_In_The_Urinal — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:14:31 EDT

@rimplestultskin:
but i bet that most customers will stay if sprint offers PTT on their CDMA network (unlike the hybrid phones that still use iDEN to make PTT calls) and makes the software side as similar to nextel as possible, and some ex-customers might even give it a second go.

Umm. Sprint offered CDMA P2T long before the Sextel merger. Its called ReadyLink and it works great.

Dook_In_The_Urinal

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Bos'un's Mate — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:41:57 EDT

@shamoononon: But he was so convincing in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? !

Bos'un's Mate

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

dysh — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:43:38 EDT

does anyone realize that without Nextel, construction as we know it will not be able to happen?

dysh

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

FP mind in rewind — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:19:35 EDT

@bitgod: Agreed. I had Nextel for a few years, and it was indespensible for my line of work. Well, until Sprint bought them. I had no problem switching to Verizon. My hatred for Sprint is that deep.

FP mind in rewind

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

bitgod — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:28:40 EDT

The f-ing push-to-talk phones are the problem, the problem is the f-ing users. I tested out a nextel phone for a weekend once for work, you can use the P-T-T function like a normal phone, you don't have to let everyone around you hear your conversation, that's f-ing annoying.

bitgod

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

vertigo — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:24:48 EDT

@AaronZ: Some of us have recently been forced by state law to become temporary douche bags while operating a motor vehicle. We are not happy with living in douche bag denial. But I think chirping is much more ghey than that.

vertigo

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

AaronZ — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:14:46 EDT

Anything that leads to the death of Nextel is a good thing. Those f-ing push-to-talk phones are THE most annoying thing ever to come out of wireless technology.

(With bluetooth headsets as permanent ear attachments a close second. Yeah, you douches know who you are. Your headset looks stupid, take it out. Nobody wants to talk to you anyway.)

AaronZ

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Babysealclubber — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:48:47 EDT

@utube2007: +1

A lot of my friends and coworkers use that push to talk feature (yes, they are assholes.) It drives me nuts. I don't understand the attraction. Also, I stopped sending text messages to nextel subscribers a long time ago, because I would always get back messages that were completely screwed up, if I got anything back at all.

Babysealclubber

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Monty — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:28:53 EDT

How will they break the news to her? Call her up on a push-to-talk phone, or maybe just send her a text message? Either way, Time Warner is watching closely to see how they could dump AOL.

Monty

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

MarsVolta — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:27:10 EDT

I wish helio/ earthlink/ sk telecom would buy out sprint

MarsVolta

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

pellier — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:26:45 EDT

where I live nextel is the top provider. The push to talk is the reason

pellier

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:59:31 EDT

I don't use sprint... but i kinda wish they'd feed douche bag Dicaprio to pet in the next story.

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

utube2007 — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:49:51 EDT

All I can say is yay!

I'am so damn sick of hearing assholes chirp each other

utube2007

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

rimplestultskin — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:45:22 EDT

sprint is gonna somehow someway get rid of nextel soon. they only promised to keep iDEN running until 2010, and they're already moving on to EV-DO phones with push to talk built in. CDMA phones get better coverage, in most places, than iDEN phones can, and can be made thinner. my money says that sprint forces all iDEN customers within the next 2 years to switch over to an EV-DO phone, and make the QChat software seem like, on the software side, a seamless transition from nextel, but much less iDEN bulk (maybe none at all) on the hardware side.

nextel is still popular with business...if you work in a place where iDEN doesnt get shitty coverage. but i bet that most customers will stay if sprint offers PTT on their CDMA network (unlike the hybrid phones that still use iDEN to make PTT calls) and makes the software side as similar to nextel as possible, and some ex-customers might even give it a second go.

rimplestultskin

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

parad0x360 — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:37:00 EDT

I dont get why Sprint bought Nextel. That push to talk boop boop craze was a quick to pass fad and Sprint should have known better. After joining Nextel I found they were horrible within 3 months but I was stuck for 2 years. The moment my contract was up I was gone, by that time Spring was a year into their deal.

parad0x360

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

matt buchanan — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:34:26 EDT

@Kaiser-Machead: I know! I want one.

matt buchanan

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

strider_mt2k — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:32:41 EDT

Sprint needs to let more customers go.
It's brilliant.

strider_mt2k

Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:29:59 EDT

The Sprint logo turned little sailor hat is amusing.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!