Businesses are always looking for options, and a once-important wireless communications option is going away on June 30, 2013. That's the date the Nextel National Network is being officially decommissioned. With just two months left, plenty of businesses are considering their options to replace their push-to-talk communications systems; and BearCom has them.

Nextel Network Shut Down

To highlight the choices available, BearCom this week published a white paper, Considering All the Options for Replacing Nextel Push-to-Talk Communications Services. In it, BearCom reminds organizations impacted by the shutdown that they have choices from among push-to-talk phone systems but can consider two-way radios as well. It describes how two-way radios are an attractive alternative to phones in many applications. The white paper said, "In considering the options for replacing Nextel push-to-talk services, why should companies restrict themselves to phones? Two-way radios were the inspiration for push-to-talk, and they can be configured to facilitate one-to-one communication without airtime fees common to phones." "Motorola Solutions, the industry leader, offers a huge selection of two-way radios, led by its MOTOTRBO digital line," the paper continued. "Motorola MOTOTRBO eliminates the limitations imposed by the Nextel network on the number of talk groups and the number of users in a talk group. Also eliminated are service-level issues caused by networks that get overloaded with users during peak usage times. And with Motorola, there are no concerns about which devices have push-to-talk capability. They all do." In a news release, BearCom President & CEO Jerry Denham said the white paper was being published to remind organizations that in cases like the Nextel network shutdown, their best course of action is to seek out a provider that is vendor agnostic and focused first on meeting a need instead of selling a product. "BearCom rents and leases push-to-talk phones from Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and we rent, lease, and sell two-way radios from Motorola Solutions," Denham said. "BearCom is uniquely positioned to deliver a push-to-talk system that is designed based on the needs of our customer. We take the time to learn those needs through an extensive needs assessment." "Some of the biggest names in American business have trusted BearCom with their wireless communications needs," Denham added, "and our customer focus is one of the main reasons why." The Nextel National Network, which still serves a significant number of push-to-talk subscribers, is based on a technology called iDEN, or integrated digital enhanced network, that is inadequate to meet the data needs of modern smartphones. In 2010, Sprint said it would decommission the Nextel network, and in May 2012, it set the effective date of the shutdown, which is now just two months away.