Subject: [NEXTEL-1] City of Chicago Deploys GPS-Based Solution to Enhance Field-to- Office Communications

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 15:41:58 -0500

March 31, 2004 07:08

City of Chicago Deploys GPS-Based Solution to Enhance Field-to- Office
Communications

CHICAGO, IL AND RESTON, VA AND MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 
31-03-2004 -- Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXTL) and Xora, 
Inc., a leading provider of mobile solutions and services, today 
announced that the City of Chicago has deployed Xora GPS TimeTrack 
on Nextel GPS-enabled digital wireless phones to enhance field-to-
office communications for its Department of Buildings. 

As part of a City of Chicago-wide effort to leverage emerging 
technology systems to improve business processes, the Department of 
Buildings began using the solution from Nextel® and Xora in August 
2003. Today, each of the 175 inspectors from the Department's 15 
business bureaus is equipped with a Nextel wireless phone that is 
running the Xora GPS TimeTrack service. In addition, all Nextel 
phones include Direct Connect® long-range digital walkie-talkie 
technology, though Chicago uses this feature only for communications 
within the city limits, the technology allows users to connect 
instantly across tens, hundreds or thousands of miles. 

>From the field, the City's inspectors use the Nextel phones to 
access the Xora service and, with the phone's key pad, record time 
and date-stamped information, including property addresses and 
inspection status data. Upon capture, this data is available 
immediately for viewing over the Internet by the Department's 30 
supervisors and bureau chiefs. Supervisors in the office can also 
access maps that show the location of inspectors at any given time 
along with detailed reports that show the workers' inspection status 
information throughout the day on the Xora Web site. 

Previously the City's field staff would record this information on 
paper, and submit it at the end of each day to their supervisors and 
chiefs for review and approval. As could be expected, this process 
was inefficient and allowed for various errors and omissions. The 
City determined that by coupling Xora GPS TimeTrack with Nextel 
mobile phones, it could enhance service to customers, expedite the 
billing process, minimize paper-based reporting, and improve the 
efficiency of its entire operation. 

"Nextel has always provided leading edge technology to our business 
customers, helping support some of the world's most productive and 
successful organizations," said Leon Frazier, vice president, Public 
Sector, at Nextel. "It is becoming increasingly more important to 
demonstrate accountability in the public sector, and we are very 
pleased to be able to bring a comprehensive wireless solution to the 
City of Chicago." 

"The use of Xora GPS TimeTrack with Nextel mobile phones are a 
powerful combination and the implementation of Xora GPS TimeTrack at 
the City of Chicago represents one of our largest deployments to 
date," said Ananth Rani, vice president of Products and Services at 
Xora. "The City's eagerness and subsequent success of the program 
indicate the growing demand for our service in the marketplace and 
the ever-increasing need to implement technology that ties field and 
office together." 

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=65152

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