Results 1 to 4 of 4
- 12-17-2003, 12:53 AM #1MarkGuest
I have a specific use in mind for Direct Connect (see
below*). I've talked to a few people at Nextel (except
tech support, who wouldn't talk to me because I'm not yet
a Nextel customer) and they were reasonably helpful, but
none of them was particularly confident about his answers
to my questions, perhaps because...
(1) DC's fine points are too complicated for
most front-line sales or customer-service people to
understand completely, or
(2) the service is altered from time to time by Nextel,
making it difficult for Nextel's people to be on the
same page regarding the product's features, or
(3) Direct Connect doesn't work identically
in each U.S. metro area.
Whatever the reason, my experience has prompted
me to ask my questions here. I've never used a
Nextel phone, so some of my questions might
be naïve.
*I drive a cab in San Francisco, and I'd like to
establish a Group Connect for interested Nextel-
equipped cab drivers. The group would be intended to
serve as a group intercom, giving a driver the ability
to convey information to or ask a question of all of
the other drivers listening. This group would be
active 24/7, with the number of drivers logged on
varying from, say, 0 to 100 (the number being
determined by how many of the member drivers
are actually working at a particular moment).
Here are my questions:
1. Some of the info that I got from Nextel
people seemed to imply that after 20 minutes of
silence, the group would go dormant, requiring
the drivers to all have to log on again. Is that
correct, or would such a DC group stay active
indefinitely for those drivers who connect to it and don't
disconnect themselves (by using the cell phone
function, for example, or by turning their phones
off)?
2. I wouldn't want to have to be logged onto the
group at all times, obviously. Would it be necessary
for me, as the organizer of the group, to be actively
logged onto the group for it to be active?
3. Would the group still be active if no drivers were
logged on to it? (That is, would it need to "restarted"
if everyone logged off of it?)
4. Do you see any obvious stumbling blocks that
I might have overlooked completely?
5. Do you know of a Nextel person or office that
could give me definitive answers to the questions
above?
It might turn out that the
only way to get definitive answers to my questions
would be for me to actually get a Nextel phone and
institute a trial version of the group that I have in mind,
although that would be a painful way to learn
that it can't work for a fundamental reason.
Thanks in advance for any information that
you can provide. And please connect my terminology
as necessary, so that I can learn to speak Nextelese
fluently.
**********
1366294709
› See More: Can Direct Connect / Group Connect work like an intercom indefinitely?
- 12-17-2003, 03:03 PM #2John EckartGuest
Re: Can Direct Connect / Group Connect work like an intercom indefinitely?
Where are you getting all this "log on" stuff?
If you want to talk to a particular person or group, select the person =
or group and talk. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message =
news:[email protected]...
> I have a specific use in mind for Direct Connect (see
> below*). I've talked to a few people at Nextel (except
> tech support, who wouldn't talk to me because I'm not yet
> a Nextel customer) and they were reasonably helpful, but
> none of them was particularly confident about his answers
> to my questions, perhaps because...
> (1) DC's fine points are too complicated for
> most front-line sales or customer-service people to
> understand completely, or
> (2) the service is altered from time to time by Nextel,
> making it difficult for Nextel's people to be on the
> same page regarding the product's features, or
> (3) Direct Connect doesn't work identically
> in each U.S. metro area.
>=20
> Whatever the reason, my experience has prompted
> me to ask my questions here. I've never used a
> Nextel phone, so some of my questions might
> be na=EFve.
>=20
> *I drive a cab in San Francisco, and I'd like to
> establish a Group Connect for interested Nextel-
> equipped cab drivers. The group would be intended to
> serve as a group intercom, giving a driver the ability
> to convey information to or ask a question of all of
> the other drivers listening. This group would be
> active 24/7, with the number of drivers logged on
> varying from, say, 0 to 100 (the number being
> determined by how many of the member drivers
> are actually working at a particular moment).
>=20
> Here are my questions:
>=20
> 1. Some of the info that I got from Nextel
> people seemed to imply that after 20 minutes of
> silence, the group would go dormant, requiring
> the drivers to all have to log on again. Is that
> correct, or would such a DC group stay active
> indefinitely for those drivers who connect to it and don't
> disconnect themselves (by using the cell phone
> function, for example, or by turning their phones
> off)?
>=20
> 2. I wouldn't want to have to be logged onto the
> group at all times, obviously. Would it be necessary
> for me, as the organizer of the group, to be actively
> logged onto the group for it to be active?
>=20
> 3. Would the group still be active if no drivers were
> logged on to it? (That is, would it need to "restarted"
> if everyone logged off of it?)
>=20
> 4. Do you see any obvious stumbling blocks that
> I might have overlooked completely?
>=20
> 5. Do you know of a Nextel person or office that
> could give me definitive answers to the questions
> above?=20
>=20
> It might turn out that the
> only way to get definitive answers to my questions
> would be for me to actually get a Nextel phone and
> institute a trial version of the group that I have in mind,
> although that would be a painful way to learn
> that it can't work for a fundamental reason.
>=20
> Thanks in advance for any information that
> you can provide. And please connect my terminology
> as necessary, so that I can learn to speak Nextelese
> fluently.
>=20
>=20
> **********
> 1366294709
- 12-17-2003, 04:02 PM #3TerryGuest
Re: Can Direct Connect / Group Connect work like an intercom indefinitely?
One of the challenges may be that all of the people you want to include
in the "group" call have to be on the same fleet with Nextel. If these
are individuals who have their own accounts it is unlikely that they are
all of the same fleet. You only have to be on the same fleet to group
call, private 2 way communication does not require this. To answer your
other question about logging on and off, it is not an issue with Nextel.
As long as they have permission to be part of the group upon Nextel
subscription, all they have to do is make sure that your group is the
active group selected on their phones.
Good luck,
Terry
Mark wrote:
> I have a specific use in mind for Direct Connect (see
> below*). I've talked to a few people at Nextel (except
> tech support, who wouldn't talk to me because I'm not yet
> a Nextel customer) and they were reasonably helpful, but
> none of them was particularly confident about his answers
> to my questions, perhaps because...
> (1) DC's fine points are too complicated for
> most front-line sales or customer-service people to
> understand completely, or
> (2) the service is altered from time to time by Nextel,
> making it difficult for Nextel's people to be on the
> same page regarding the product's features, or
> (3) Direct Connect doesn't work identically
> in each U.S. metro area.
>
> Whatever the reason, my experience has prompted
> me to ask my questions here. I've never used a
> Nextel phone, so some of my questions might
> be naïve.
>
> *I drive a cab in San Francisco, and I'd like to
> establish a Group Connect for interested Nextel-
> equipped cab drivers. The group would be intended to
> serve as a group intercom, giving a driver the ability
> to convey information to or ask a question of all of
> the other drivers listening. This group would be
> active 24/7, with the number of drivers logged on
> varying from, say, 0 to 100 (the number being
> determined by how many of the member drivers
> are actually working at a particular moment).
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> 1. Some of the info that I got from Nextel
> people seemed to imply that after 20 minutes of
> silence, the group would go dormant, requiring
> the drivers to all have to log on again. Is that
> correct, or would such a DC group stay active
> indefinitely for those drivers who connect to it and don't
> disconnect themselves (by using the cell phone
> function, for example, or by turning their phones
> off)?
>
> 2. I wouldn't want to have to be logged onto the
> group at all times, obviously. Would it be necessary
> for me, as the organizer of the group, to be actively
> logged onto the group for it to be active?
>
> 3. Would the group still be active if no drivers were
> logged on to it? (That is, would it need to "restarted"
> if everyone logged off of it?)
>
> 4. Do you see any obvious stumbling blocks that
> I might have overlooked completely?
>
> 5. Do you know of a Nextel person or office that
> could give me definitive answers to the questions
> above?
>
> It might turn out that the
> only way to get definitive answers to my questions
> would be for me to actually get a Nextel phone and
> institute a trial version of the group that I have in mind,
> although that would be a painful way to learn
> that it can't work for a fundamental reason.
>
> Thanks in advance for any information that
> you can provide. And please connect my terminology
> as necessary, so that I can learn to speak Nextelese
> fluently.
>
>
> **********
> 1366294709
- 12-19-2003, 02:45 AM #4BrianGuest
Re: Can Direct Connect / Group Connect work like an intercom indefinitely?
Mark,
Here is the definitive "scoop" on group Direct Connect. You do not have to
"log on" or off, you have to get customer care to program a group with all
of the users you want on it. Then you have to store the group number in the
phone books of each unit. Then each unit has to "register" on the group.
Once this is done all you have to do is pull up the group in your phone book
and press the DC button and talk. Everyone who is registered and not busy in
cellular calls, another DC call, or internet use, will receive the call.
Each person in the group can also reply to the group, but they have to wait
to their turn as only one person at a time can talk.
The main issues you will face with group versus private are as follows:
1) as mentioned by a previous response, all members of a group MUST be on
the same "fleet". To help understand the jargon, for those who may not be
familiar, a Direct Connect number (or UFMI) consists of three parts- Urban
ID, Fleet ID, and Member ID or urban*fleet*member id to simplify (Nextel.com
is now listing these as Area ID*Network ID*Member ID). The Urban ID is
similar to an area code in a phone number, in that it identifies a certain
geographic area, such as Northern or Southern California. The Fleet or
network id is similar to a prefix except that it can be anywhere within the
Urban ID area. Up until recently, there were a lot of major accounts that
had "Private Fleets", meaning they could keep other subscribers that weren't
their employees, off of their fleet. This made it so that they could choose
specific UFMIs (vanity numbers) for their employees. With the release of
Enhanced Direct connect a few years ago and more recently Nationwide Direct
Connect, this is becoming less of an option, as Nextel has to accomodate
more and more users. Most accounts can still have all of their users on the
same fleet, but it is less likely that they will be the only users to be on
that fleet.
2) the cost. Not yet mentioned is the cost of group talk. Very few plans
actually include any group minutes, although some allow to use your private
minutes as group minutes. The main drawback is, the minutes used is 15 cents
multiplied by the number of users in the call, if your plan does not have
group minutes. If there are 6 people including the initiator, you can be
charged 15 cents, times 6, times the minutes.
I used to drive a cab with a company that used Nextel phones and we rarely
used group. But then again their were only 3 to 6 vehicles out at a time
(small urban area in Western Washington). Each vehicle had it's own i550+
and a car charger. We usually had 1-2 vehicles in each parts of the same
county. If one driver went on a long call like to SeaTac Airport (55-75
minutes one way) they would DC the other drivers to let them know and then
set the forwards to one of the other vehicles.
"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a specific use in mind for Direct Connect (see
> below*). I've talked to a few people at Nextel (except
> tech support, who wouldn't talk to me because I'm not yet
> a Nextel customer) and they were reasonably helpful, but
> none of them was particularly confident about his answers
> to my questions, perhaps because...
> (1) DC's fine points are too complicated for
> most front-line sales or customer-service people to
> understand completely, or
> (2) the service is altered from time to time by Nextel,
> making it difficult for Nextel's people to be on the
> same page regarding the product's features, or
> (3) Direct Connect doesn't work identically
> in each U.S. metro area.
>
> Whatever the reason, my experience has prompted
> me to ask my questions here. I've never used a
> Nextel phone, so some of my questions might
> be naïve.
>
> *I drive a cab in San Francisco, and I'd like to
> establish a Group Connect for interested Nextel-
> equipped cab drivers. The group would be intended to
> serve as a group intercom, giving a driver the ability
> to convey information to or ask a question of all of
> the other drivers listening. This group would be
> active 24/7, with the number of drivers logged on
> varying from, say, 0 to 100 (the number being
> determined by how many of the member drivers
> are actually working at a particular moment).
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> 1. Some of the info that I got from Nextel
> people seemed to imply that after 20 minutes of
> silence, the group would go dormant, requiring
> the drivers to all have to log on again. Is that
> correct, or would such a DC group stay active
> indefinitely for those drivers who connect to it and don't
> disconnect themselves (by using the cell phone
> function, for example, or by turning their phones
> off)?
>
> 2. I wouldn't want to have to be logged onto the
> group at all times, obviously. Would it be necessary
> for me, as the organizer of the group, to be actively
> logged onto the group for it to be active?
>
> 3. Would the group still be active if no drivers were
> logged on to it? (That is, would it need to "restarted"
> if everyone logged off of it?)
>
> 4. Do you see any obvious stumbling blocks that
> I might have overlooked completely?
>
> 5. Do you know of a Nextel person or office that
> could give me definitive answers to the questions
> above?
>
> It might turn out that the
> only way to get definitive answers to my questions
> would be for me to actually get a Nextel phone and
> institute a trial version of the group that I have in mind,
> although that would be a painful way to learn
> that it can't work for a fundamental reason.
>
> Thanks in advance for any information that
> you can provide. And please connect my terminology
> as necessary, so that I can learn to speak Nextelese
> fluently.
>
>
> **********
> 1366294709
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