Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Fmr. FCC Comish William Kennard Joins "Timmy The One Trick Pony" Public Safety Road Show-

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 23:28:22 -0400

Fmr. FCC Comish William Kennard Joins "Timmy The One Trick Pony" Public Safety Road Show-

(Coming To A Mall Near You)

Public Safety Leaders Address Critical Homeland Security Communications Needs

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2003--

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director and Former NY City Commissioner of
Emergency Management Stress the Need for Interoperable Communications for First Responders

Nextel CEO, Former FCC Chairman and Public Safety Roundtable also Address Interoperability

Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL) today hosted a conference devoted to
interoperable communications at the Ronald Reagan Building in the District of Columbia.

This event highlighted the pressing advanced communications needs facing police, fire and
other public safety and health officials. The event attracted approximately 200 homeland
security, public safety and public health officials from the Washington, DC metropolitan
area.

The conference showcased interoperability - the goal that all relevant public safety
officials have the ability to communicate with one another through reliable and secure
communications regardless of jurisdiction or department.

Speakers included Michael Byrne, Director National Capital Region Coordination for
Emergency Response (Department of Homeland Security); James Lee Witt, former Federal
Emergency Management Agency Director; Richard Sheirer, former New York City Emergency
Management Commissioner; Peter LaPorte, District of Columbia's Director for Emergency
Management; William Kennard, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman; and Tim
Donahue Nextel President and CEO.

For several months following the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, Nextel, in
cooperation with Motorola, supported numerous public safety organizations in that area
with wireless communications services.

Organizations included: Baltimore City Police Department and US Park Police, Arlington and
Prince William Fire Departments, American Red Cross, National Guard, FBI, Secret Service,
ATF, US Marshals and countless others.

Specifically, the following occurred:

--  With local phone lines jammed and systems down, Nextel's Direct Connect(TM) service
    and two-way messaging remained working throughout the entire crisis, recovery and cleanup;

--  Nearly 2000 Nextel phones were activated and deployed to agencies in the Washington,
    DC area mentioned above, and to construction companies working on the site;
--  Nextel installed a COW (Cell-sites on Wheels) at the Pentagon for better capacity and
    coverage.
--  Nextel set up three Command Posts available to support these efforts 24 hours a day
    for battery replacement, phone replacement and support.

James Lee Witt, president of James Lee Witt Associates and former director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), stressed that interoperable communications is
essential for today's emergency management professionals. "From the communications failure
during the Oklahoma City bombing to being able to communicate during recent snowstorms,
our nation's first responders need to be able to communicate for day-to-day operations and
in emergency situations. These tools are fundamental to keeping the American people safe."

Richard Sheirer, who served as NY City Commissioner of Emergency Management during
September 11th and after and who is now Senior Vice President of Giuliani Partners, LLC
stated, "More than ever, major crisis-response efforts are multi-jurisdictional and
multi-functional. From the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery effort to the DC-area sniper
investigation, we are seeing a new level of collaboration and a greater need for a
coordinated response."

During the public safety roundtable discussion, Sheirer said, "On September 11th, we
learned the true importance of interoperable communications. It was a chaotic scene at
Ground Zero, but if it weren't for Nextel providing us with interoperable communications
tools, it might have been worse."

While addressing guests during the conference, Nextel CEO Tim Donahue said, "Since
September 11, 2001 each one of us has stepped back to reflect on what more we should be
doing to face new threats and coordinate response. And, not to overstate the obvious,
we've all been talking to each other. The new era in which we operate says that we can no
longer accomplish our missions on our own, as our needs and our missions are all
inter-related. And what has always been central to our individual missions has now become
our shared mission: interoperable communications."

Nextel Communications is hosting a series of interoperability conferences around the
country that are designed to educate consumers, government and public safety officials
about the capabilities of and demand for interoperability.

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.042203/231125195&directory=/altavista&header_file=header.htm&footer_file=

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