One year after launching its next generation push-to-talk service, Sprint has passed the 1 million customer milestone as customers migrate off of the old Nextel network and onto its CDMA network.
“One million customers in less than a year is an important achievement and reflects well on the permanence of push-to-talk as a communications solution,” said Paget Alves, Sprint’s chief sales officer. “Sprint Direct Connect has clearly met the increasing demand for faster data speeds and better and broader coverage on push-to-talk devices.”
Sprint has previously announced plans to cease service on its iDEN Nextel National Network as early as June 30, 2013. The Nextel network operates in the 800MHz Specialized Mobile Radio band and uses iDEN technology developed by Motorola. The majority of iDen site have now been taken off air as the company implements its Network Vision plan.
Sprint confirmed that in Q2 60 percent of total subscribers who left the postpaid Nextel platform were recaptured on the postpaid Sprint platform – up from 46 percent in the first quarter.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is one customer to recently migrate to Sprint Direct Connect from its legacy Nextel service. Sprint will provide FEMA with 2,000 Sprint Direct Connect handsets equipped with an Actsoft GPS tracking and navigation solution to support FEMA’s nationwide Mass Evacuation Program.
Sprint noted that its Direct Connect service has triple the square miles of coverage compared to the company’s legacy Nextel National Network.
