Nextel SUCKS!

Nextel Sucks.

I hate to be so hateful, but damn am I ever frustrated with Nextel! I got a Nextel phone when I started this job a year ago, and I can honestly say I've had a whole year's worth of problems. With a couple of hundred people in at least two organizations I might like to reach having Nextel phones, I finally got one, forsaking my nearly-perfect experience with AT&T Wireless. Which was no small feat, given I'd used them for - oh, I don't know, MAYBE 12 YEARS!

Problem 1: Cell calls drop. All the time. Regardless of location. Regardless of apparent signal strength. After having had two phones.

Problem 2: Radio is more unreliable than cell service. Direct Connect is very handy - when it works. I can be standing next to another subscriber, go to bleep him (that's a technical term) and get the dreaded yet ever-so-frequent "User Not Available" message. Not to mention that I'll frequently have a Direct Connect conversation in progress and then *magically* neither I nor the other end can get the other party. Just like that.

Problem 3: Its not just me. Its everyone I know locally that's using Nextel.

Problem 4: Despite numerous complaints, tech support calls, threats on large organizations' parts to DC the service... no joy.

Organizations I work with are HUGE users of Nextel. And the ones I know are ALL complaining about the crappy service. Rumor has it that Nextel doesn't have the bandwidth they need in Florida, and folks attribute both the radio and cell interruptions to that. All I know is I'm starting to look for the alternatives, 'cause having a Nextel so you can bleep someone else isn't a competitive advantage when all the bleeps are covering my expletives.

p.s. I guess I'm not the only one who thinks so low-ly of Nextel. Click here for a Technorati search for other similar comments. Technorati, as opposed to Nextel, rocks.