Question

At one time didn't Nextel have a plan to include direct communication
between phones (frs radio) if there was no signal from the tower present?

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They still do but they only work within a few miles

It is not a plan. It is a feature that is included on some specific
phones. I think it is called Direct Talk.

RichC wrote:
> At one time didn't Nextel have a plan to include direct communication
> between phones (frs radio) if there was no signal from the tower present?
>
>
Its not a plan but a feature of the certain phones. It is not
automatic. The users needs to decide when to place the phone in Direct
Talk mode. Then choose the talk channel and code. All participating
handsets need to be on the same channel and code. Also when a handset
is in the direct talk mode, it can not send or receive anything from the
"network".

As a previous writer mentioned the range is limited as would be expected
for a 1/2 watt 900Mhz transmitter on a 1/4 wave omni antenna. I have
noticed that the hand set gets warmer in DT mode than it does when in
using the normal phone or Direct Connect so it must be using more power.

The technical specs of exactly what is going on has so far eluded me.
Aside from being able to use like equipped handsets out of network
range, they can also be useful when chatting with in range associates
off the log book so to speak. Eliminates the need to carry a second
Walkie-Talki for a lot of uses. Although a 4 or 5 watt Walkie would
beat the stuffing out of DT. I have used amateur radio walkie-talkies
over ranges exceeding 100 miles(without the benefit of repeaters or
ducting)using an auxiliary antenna system.

There is no technical reason I know of that any services' handset could
not be designed to provide users with the same capability. I thought
"DT" would be a great idea for subscribers (not providers though)about
30 seconds after I became aware of the existence of Cellular telephones.
The market is being steered towards built in crappy cameras and MP3
players or what ever else sells air time. In my opinion, Direct Talk is
a huge step in the right direction and was a factor in my decision to
drop Verizon in favor of Nextel.

Off topic but other reasons for my dropping Verizon was an increasing
network latency resulting in awkward conversation timing. Increasingly
my incoming calls not ringing my phone but instead going straight to
voice mail. Some days up to 1/2 of them and in good signal areas too.
And Finally, my text messages being delayed for hours in some cases.
Totally unacceptable as I am using text messaging for the alerting
function for an automated monitoring system.

So far I have not observed any of those issues on Nextel. My text
messages arrive within 30 seconds now. I am given a chance to answer my
calls before VM gets them, and I my conversations proceed much smoother
now as we are not interrupting each other. For this I am willing to
accept less coverage area which is the only thing Verizon is better at.