Assistance With Equipment, What to look for.

[Maxx102]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice about what to look for with two way radios. The company I work has over 50 or so Nextels and from what I have read, Sprint is going to be phasing them out. The 50 + Nextels are being used as the primary communications for emergency and non-emergency events.

Personally I have never liked the Nextels being used in this fashion as I have seen better communication and coordination with public safety officials and none of them use nextels as their primary communication devices (secondary - yes).

Second, we are relying on a 3rd party to keep us operational. If our talk groups go down or are deleted (which has happened twice in the span of 2 years) we are not in good shape...meaning we have to send a message to each hand unit one by one.

The Nextels are divided into several groups, Security, Engineering, Housekeeping, Mailroom, and Facilities. Additionally, we have volunteer employees who pick up a Nextel and are part of our safety response team on the grounds (responds to fires, severe weather, medical emergencies).


I would like to receive input and ask what radio system would you go with? I have heard of Mototrbo, but I don't have any hands on experience with it and I have heard mixed reviews where one person loves it, another one hates it. I have also heard of Kenwoods Nextedge system as well, but again, I have no hands on experience.

What are the pro's and cons of your recommendation?

 

[W2NJS]

If you want fifteen different opinions from fifteen different people then you've come to the right place. In your position I'd want to hire a communications consultant to at least get me started with the project. You can waste a lot of time on a learning curve when the help you need is out there already.

 

[JRayfield]

The comment about getting a lot of different opinions may be correct, but be VERY careful if you hire any kind of consultant. I've been in the Land Mobile Radio industry for over 32 years (technical, not sales) and in that time period I've seen good consultants and I've seen some very bad consultants. And when it comes to deciding what to purchase, do not base your decision on price or just the equipment itself. Be sure and consider the company that designs and installs the system. I've seen systems that should have been great systems that didn't work properly at all, not because of the equipment being 'bad', but because the system wasn't designed and/or installed properly. And these systems were put in by 2-way dealers that were 'reputable' - buth they didn't have good technical people on-staff and/or they let their sales people design the systems. Basically, they just didn't know what they were doing, from a technical standpoint.

If you want to give me a call sometime, I'd be happy to give you some ideas of what to look for, in equipment, and in choosing a dealer from which to purchase that equipment. Just send me a private message here on this board and I'll give you my telephone number.

John Rayfield, Jr. CETma

 

[hog00]

Nextel

Sorry but Nextel has gone with the deal announced today between Motorola and Verizon...

 

[joetnymedic]

so hog,
enlighten those of us who may not be in the loop

 

[ThinBlueLine22]

Sorry but Nextel has gone with the deal announced today between Motorola and Verizon...

I am also curious on your comment...I have done some research and see nothing that indicates Nextel is going away. Motorola cannot afford to loose Sprint Nextel as customer, they have publicly said so in SEC filings. I have seen an article regarding Motorola and Verizon going together on a Public Safety Broadband LTE network, but that has nothing to do with the Sprint Nextel.

So, instead of just throwing this out there, please elaborate.

 

[RKG]

Sprint itself has announced an end-of-life (2013 I believe, but that is from memory) for the Nextel system; that is to say, the 800 MHz iDen-based trunked system.

 

[davidgcet]

that has nothing to do with recent events, that is part of the rebanding deal on 800. why do you think Sprint/Nextel is footing 100% of the rebanding bill? they are getting a large chunk of contiguous spectrum in the 1.7ghz(i think) band nationwide, in exchange they turn in all their 800mhz spectrum and pay to shuffle everyone else around.

 

[Maxx102]

Here's why I asked the original question.

Sprint to start phasing out Nextel network in 2013 - USATODAY.com

 

[n5ims]

Here's why I asked the original question.

Sprint to start phasing out Nextel network in 2013 - USATODAY.com

"Sprint plans to offer Nextel subscribers a push-to-talk function on the Sprint network instead." Sounds like all that's needed is to make sure that you get Sprint to migrate your 50 or so users from the current NexTel phones and systems to their Sprint network. Since Sprint generally allows you to qualify for replacement phones every 2 years (although it may not pay for 100% of the new phone cost), it should be much less than the cost of a 5+ channel (or talkgroup if trunked) system that would cover your large multi-building main campus, other buildings 2+ miles away from your main campus, and other responders that may use the system at other locations (homes, cars, while shopping, etc.).

Your other threads indicate that you personally don't like the current NexTel system (and have been trying to get your bosses to change it since 2008 or so), the other options haven't sold them on changing. It's just possible that the NexTel system is a better fit for them (features, costs, maintenance, etc.) than having a private radio system or leasing radio services from others. It's a pretty hard sell when a push-to-talk phone is only a few hundred dollars (and may be free) when a radio is closer to a grand each (plus licensing costs, repeater costs, maintenance costs, etc.).

 

[Maxx102]

Your other threads indicate that you personally don't like the current NexTel system (and have been trying to get your bosses to change it since 2008 or so), the other options haven't sold them on changing. It's just possible that the NexTel system is a better fit for them (features, costs, maintenance, etc.) than having a private radio system or leasing radio services from others. It's a pretty hard sell when a push-to-talk phone is only a few hundred dollars (and may be free) when a radio is closer to a grand each (plus licensing costs, repeater costs, maintenance costs, etc.).

Well we have had some changes since my original posting in 2008/09. One, the off site buildings are no longer needing to be considered since the leases are coming due and I have been informed that we are not renewing them.

A question I would like to ask is this. At what price point would you consider switching to a radio system vs. staying with Nextel?

 

[radioman2001]

One thing to look out for with the Sprint Nextel radio swap is if they will still give you group call functions that you have now. The last customer that I had lost that option to get better range with the Sprint 2-way.
If you are spending more than $50.00 a month per Nextel on 2-way only I would go with your own system or rent off someone elses. Depending on the area you want to cover you have to consider repeater rental or site rental for your own equipment. The newer system that you can own have IP conectivity so you wire muiltiple buildings together. Radios themselves average $500.00 now a days, that would be less than a year Nextel rent, and repeaters are $2-10 K . You also reap a large savings in not having to pay all those monthly taxes and fees, sometimes I see those as exceeding to costs of the service you are getting. This is just an average, your system may cost less or more depending on your needs.
Talk to a number of radio companies, get quotes and designs from all of them. Don't pick the least cost, have them show you it works with a demonstration. Let them take you to an existing working system. The time you put in before the purchase will definitely save you later.