Why? Sure. Because they have convinced the world that everyone else sucks, yet they are truly the bottom of the barrel. If Nextel is so fantastic, why such a small market share? If I had nothing more than a walkie talkie to hang my hat on, I'd be ashamed. National coverage my eye! Have you compared their coverage maps to any of the other major players? If I were a SPIDER maybe I would enjoy it, but as for being someone who needs my phone available to me, I'd rather have a solid coverage map, and the reliability that affords me. I'd rather have the option of using another carrier's tower if I am in a bad situation in the middle of nowhere. We won't even get into the safety problems they create with police, fire and other RADIO frequencies.
As for being better than VZ or ATT... those networks are evolving at a much faster rate than Nextel... so the issues you had most likely have been resolved.