Nextel Selects SMS Interconnection Service

The USA based iDEN network, Nextel has signed a contract with Wireless Services Corporation (WSC) to provide SMS network interoperability, enabling Nextel customers to send and receive text messages to and from subscribers of other U.S. wireless carriers.

Selected in 2000 as the provider for Nextel's original two-way messaging service, WSC has scaled its platform to meet the growing demand for Nextel two-way messaging. Using WSC's interoperability platform, Nextel customers can now send and receive text messages with subscribers of other major wireless carriers.

"Inter-carrier messaging offers a significant usability improvement for Nextel subscribers," said Blair Kutrow, Nextel vice president of product management. "This is the premier messaging technology on the market, and it allows us to provide yet another differentiated service to our customers, who already enjoy the uniqueness of services such as Nextel Direct Connect(R) and Nextel's all digital, 2.5G packet data network. With this enhancement, creating an inter-carrier text message is as simple as placing a phone call from a Nextel phone."

WSC is one of three designated Inter-carrier vendors (ICV) working with the CTIA inter-carrier messaging forum.'"

Posted to the site on 5th August 2002