Rutherford, New Jersey-based Nextel Communications Inc (formerly Fleet Call Inc) has activated what it says is the US’s first digital mobile telephone network. Available in southern California, the service is Time Division Multiple Access-based, and uses equipment from Motorola Inc and Northern Telecom Ltd. Nextel is hoping to attract around 500 subscribers during the service’s first four months of operation, and these will be used to obtain feedback on specific user requirements. Nextel says it already has users in Los Angeles, Riverside and parts of Orange and Ventura counties. According to the company, it is planning to extend coverage to areas from Santa Barbara to Palm Springs, to northern San Diego County in the next few weeks. By early next year, it is aiming for contiguous coverage throughout most of California. The company is not saying how much users will have to pay.
