michael_herc said:
13.5 million and shrinking.

Yes, which is what we Nextel users prefer; more room for the rest of us to get our work done without the ATT / VZ / T-Mo "cellphone-fashionistas" clogging the airwaves.

Verizon & ATT are so "me too", so predictable, so boring, so limited; they are for the masses. Nextel runs with a more select crowd, the people who get it done every day, creating genuine value in our economy; Nextel customers are creators, not consumers. That's why we need the "NEXTEL. | Done." way of doing business; it helps us get it done better, quicker, more efficiently.

All we need now is to somehow get out from under Sprint so we can get back to being genuine Nextel as it was back ...
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Well said! I think I love you!

Yes, I do see what you're saying. I used to have Nextel service myself and I was completely dissatisfied. I guess it's all relative to where you live. Here in my part of Michigan, they suffer from a lot of overcrowding and interference. They also don't have that great of coverage around here especially because they can't add sites to Sprint towers in my part of Michigan because it's iPCS here.

I don't really think Verizon is a "me too" company. I totally disagree with that. With AT&T I will agree with you. I have AT&T now for the iPhone 3G and AT&T's coverage SUCKS!!! You can never make a call. However, I also used to have Verizon, and they had an AMAZING network.

Of Course Verizon is a ME TOO Company.
They have tried to copy the Nextel Direct Connect.
The originator of Direct Connect is Nextel, now Verizon is trying to say they are the best. That in itself is ME TOO! Look what I am trying to copy from the BEST!

Go ahead and stick with verizon or that other company that has an identity crisis At&T, no Suncom no Cingular No Wait AT&T.

I would rather be with the BEST (NEXTEL) then the Biggest.

I do understand that as well. It's because they want to take customers from the Nextel brand. It's all business.

But when it comes to Nextel being the best, it's all relative to where you live. For me, I want a cell phone company that works and has reception everywhere. Therefore, a big company. Verizon offers that. If you look at a coverage map of where I live, Nextel has very, very poor coverage. And I live in Michigan, a state that is quite populated. However, when you look at Verizon, they cover my entire area.

Yes, Nextel may have great PTT, but you have to have service in order to use it.

Your just an idiot Verizon Mark. In one reply you state I do not believe that Verizon is a Me Too company, and yet when I call you on it to show you that they are a ME TOO company you agree. Go hide under a rock you troll. I'll put my money where my mouth is when it comes to a SERVICE that actually works after there is a major disaster like Katrina. Nextel Worked immediately following Katrina no other company had service. Don't come in here and start posting unless you really know what the hell you are talking about. If you have a response and you want to put your money where your mouth is I will listen until then SHUT UP, IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems like the other poster was being reasonable. He/she finds Verizon to be good in the areas of use that matter to them, whereas Nextel has lesser coverage there. That's a legitimate reason to stick with VZ. None of them have perfect coverage and they all have their strong & weak points. It IS a free country, afterall.

I've found Nextel to be superior for my needs and in my area, so I'm loyal to Nextel. What I don't like abour Verizon is their slimy business tactics, so I stay away from VZ; wouldn't touch VZ with a ten-foot pole. But the other poster has a right to choose VZ if that service suits them best (and it DOES keep them off the Nextel network;)

Name-calling is rarely helpful, and if indeed you are dealing from a position of ...
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From what I'm hearing from the big wigs at Sprint, they plan on pouring all their money back into iDEN. Apparently, someone got the memo that the 14.5 million customer left with Nextel would rather send smoke signals than go to Sprint. If they can get the network back to at least 2004 standards, then it's a good day for Nextel and all iDEN subscribers.

Interesting you should say that S-N will be plowing money back into the iDEN side. I hope you are right, but I am fearful that will not happen.

First, S-N is hurting financially due to so many lost customers, and of course this is the worst economy in at least two generations, which makes matters look fairly dire. The US consumer has snapped his wallet shut, big-time, and is waiting for the storm to pass. And even those few who are spending are going for pure value and not taking any risks, and we al know that S-N is really a risk compared to VZ or ATT or even T-Mo.

Second, I recently spoke to the Nextel NETS engineer in my area, asking when they would put up a new cell-site in my neighborhod to cover the iDEN coverage hole around my h...
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Coincidentally, yesterday (Dec. 9) there was a news item regarding the budget crunch at Sprint-Nextel. In a nutshell, there will be no network inprovements for at least two years:

SOURCE: Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/i dUSN0927303020081209 )

Sprint Nextel Chief Financial Officer Bob Brust said on Tuesday "...cutting costs and preserving cash would be Sprint's priority." Brust suggested that the company's capital spending should be low for the next two years as preserving the company's liquidity would come before everything else including spending on expanding the company's network. "I will not let anything get in the way of the liquidity of this company in the next two years," he said.

I wouldn't exactly call myself a troll for Verizon. I don't even have Verizon. I have AT&T. I was merely stating an observation about the fact that based on actual carrier coverage in the State of Michigan, Verizon/Alltel actually has the best coverage. I've had Nextel before, I've used their network. I've also used Sprint. I have experience with all of them. The reason I'm with AT&T now is because of the iPhone. But I can still say that AT&T has a very inferior network (at least here in Michigan). From my experiences with Nextel, they tend to have many, many gaps in their coverage especially around here.