Microsoft Teams With, Invests in Nextel
Reston, VA-based Nextel Communications has signed an agreement with Redmond, WA-based Microsoft Corp. Under the pact, Nextel and Microsoft will develop a link, called Nextel Online that will enable Nextel customers to access a customized set of Internet services offered through a co-branded version of the MSN portal.
Through this agreement, Nextel will provide its customers with access to the MSN network of Internet services, which will keep them in touch with their information while on the go. When fully operational, as part of the Nextel Online offering, the co-marketed services are expected to include e-mail, calendar functionality, address book contacts and access to Web-based content.
Nextel expects that later this year Nextel Online customers will be able to use Nextel phones to access the new services mentioned above. These services are being designed and deployed so that Nextel customers also will be able to access them in combination with a range of other devices, including personal digital assistants (PDAs), palmtop computers, PCs, and Windows CE operating system-based devices. Nextel will also work with Microsoft to help define the requirements for Microsoft's microbrowser technology for wireless devices.
In addition to working with Nextel, Microsoft has committed to invest $600 million in Nextel stock in support of the development and deployment of wireless Internet services. Nextel plans to use this investment to advance the deployment of Internet services, expand the Nextel nationwide network in the US, develop additional digital services, and expand the number of foreign countries that it operates in.
Today's Microsoft/Nextel release comes on the heels of Microsoft's announced plans to deliver a wireless portal designed to work with handheld devices, cellular phones, and interactive pagers via the MSN network. Through this portal, Internet users will be able to access services on MSN, including e-mail and address; news, sports, and weather from MSNBC; stock updates from the MSN MoneyCentral personal finance online service; forthcoming calendar features from Jump! Networks; and other Web-based content such as door-to-door directions and weather. The wireless portal will be available later this year in conjunction with the next major upgrade to MSN.