Sprint Nextel Direct Connect launches bundled pricing for business

Computerworld - Sprint Nextel Corp. announced today a new custom-pricing plan for business customers on its Nextel Direct Connect service, which is designed to bundle messaging and other tools used heavily by workgroups to save costs.

The new Nextel Direct Connect Custom Plans provide unlimited Direct Connect (a push-to-talk or walkie-talkie service), unlimited Group Connect (for walkie-talkie service across workgroups), unlimited mobile voice to other Sprint mobile users, and unlimited text messaging and picture mail starting at $30 a month per user.

In a statement, Nextel Direct Connect President Danny Bowman called the pricing plans "a paradigm shift ... for businesses that wish to control costs without limiting communication." The features of the plans allow businesses to better predict communications costs and don't limit how anytime minutes are shared, he added. Customers can also add buckets of minutes as businesses need them.

Sprint said it would add the plans to consumer and business accounts paid by individuals inside those businesses. Today's news applies to business accounts in which the business directly covers wireless costs for its employees.

The new plans are:

• Unlimited Workgroup Communications, for unlimited direct and group connect, plus unlimited text messaging, unlimited Sprint-to-Sprint voice, and unlimited night and weekend minutes (starting at 9 p.m.). Priced at $30 per month per user.
• Web & Navigation, which includes all the above for unlimited workgroup communications plus unlimited data, Web browsing and GPS navigation for $40 per month per user on a Nextel phone and $50 a month for PowerSource and Nextel Direct Connect-capable Sprint phones.
• Pooled voice service can be added to either plan for group sharing at $30 per month per user for 500 minutes or $100 per month per user for 2,000 minutes.

Wireless analyst Jeff Kagan said that since wireless sales have slowed because of the economy, Sprint is "trying to shake things up" with new pricing plans.

Customers will be able to pay for the services they need and not for the others, Kagan noted. "That makes sense and will allow users to save money," he said. "In this economic environment, that seems to be a good strategy."

Previously, customers either paid for everything, or they got nothing. "Now, customers can take control and think about how they use services and choose the appropriate plan," Kagan said. "That will help most customers reduce costs every month."

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