Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Verizon Wireless, Nextel in ad war

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 18:02:28 -0400

Verizon Wireless, Nextel in ad war
Thursday September 4, 5:43 pm ET 
By Yukari Iwatani 

CHICAGO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Wireless telephone companies Verizon
Wireless and Nextel Communications Inc. (NasdaqNM:NXTL - News) are
waging battling advertising campaigns as competition heats up over a
walkie-talkie feature that lets users connect to each other with a
push of the button.

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless telephone company,
introduced the service more than two weeks ago, drawing comparisons
with Nextel, which has offered the feature exclusively for the past
decade.

Verizon Wireless has been aggressively touting its wide coverage area
in print and television ads with slogans such as "Now there's a push
to talk that works where you do."

The ad war heated up this week as Nextel responded with print ads
saying, "We have push to talk. They have push to wait," and "What part
of 'instant' don't the other guys understand?"

The advertising, which focuses on perceptions of the quality of the
technology, could get even meaner, analysts say.

"Both are getting very nasty about each other," said Patrick Comack
(News), telecoms analyst with Guzman & Co. "It's no secret who they're
attacking. 'Can you hear me yet?' is probably around the corner. I
expect the advertising to get nastier."

The so-called "push-to-talk" service allows mobile phone users to
connect with colleagues and friends across the country almost
instantly, instead of dialing a number and waiting for the call to go
through.

Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications
(NYSE:VZ - News) and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc(London:VOD.L -
News), is the first of several national operators expected to launch
the walkie-talkie service in a direct challenge to Nextel, the No. 5
wireless telephone company.

Nextel has held a virtual monopoly in offering "push-to-talk" to a
niche market of construction crews, technicians and government
agencies. Despite the market slump over the past two years, the
company stood out in the wireless industry with leading
revenue-per-user and customer retention rates.

Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney told Reuters its new
push-to-talk phone "was flying out of the door," but initial
comparison tests by analysts have shown Nextel's product to be superior.

"The current (Verizon Wireless) version doesn't pose a strong threat
to Nextel," said Adam Guy, industry analyst with Yankee Group. "For
the brand new user, it seems like it's pretty much the same, but to a
seasoned Nextel user, ... the slowness and the unreliability are
noticeable."

At particular issue is the time it takes for a user to set up an
initial communications channel -- almost instantaneous with Nextel,
but five to seven seconds with Verizon Wireless.

That might not seem like much, especially compared with the 15 seconds
it takes to make a phone call, but devoted Nextel users tend to be
particular about such differences.

Guy noted that Verizon Wireless might also have trouble cracking
Nextel user groups, which are important work tools for many businesses.

"They made a strategic mistake aggressively advertising for this
product when it's not ready for prime time," said Comack.

Still, Verizon Wireless will likely capture customers who are new to
push-to-talk, as well as those for whom the phone network is more
important than the walkie-talkie feature, analysts said. Verizon
Wireless also might pick up corporate customers who are looking to
consolidate their wireless service with one company.

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?g=9191297FC05E449C8B0993B72B1773E5&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk

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From: "Bill Smith" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 19:10:17 -0400

>seasoned Nextel user, ... the slowness and the unreliability are

Slowness and unreliability? I would hardly call my Nextel reliable or fast.
More than 1/3 of the time I get dropped in mid conversation, I won't be able
to answer the person I was talking to. I'll get "User busy in private"
messages quite a bit of the time when I know they are not talking to anyone
else or I'll just get that irritating sound that says too bad! Try again
sucker.

It's at least as fast, and far less frustrating to use my Verizon cell phone
and just call people rather than deal with the erratic nature of Nextel.
Verizon's coverage is vastly better than Nextel's too. Lately, I have been
getting "User not available" messages, yet the person I just tried calling
answers me saying they got my call.