General Wesley Clark, Former NATO Commander of U.S. Allied Forces, Discusses Emergency Preparedness Communication; Critical Texas Homeland Security Communications Needs Addressed by National, State and Local Public Safety Officials

Business Wire, June 14, 2005

HOUSTON -- Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL) today hosted a conference in Houston devoted to improving interoperable communications and emergency preparedness. The conference highlighted the vital role of communication in overall public safety and homeland security in Texas and focused on the day-to-day and emergency communications needs facing police, fire, emergency management and other public safety and health officials. More than 200 Texas homeland security, public safety, education and public health officials attended.

The conference addressed interoperability - the idea that public safety officials must have the ability to easily manage and directly connect with one another through reliable and secure communications regardless of agency, jurisdiction or department. Speakers included General Wesley Clark, Partner, James Lee Witt Associates and Former NATO Commander of U.S. Allied Forces; Bill Pessemier, executive communications systems advisor, International Association of Fire Chiefs and former incident commander, Columbine, Colo., Fire Department.

Today, General Wesley Clark underscored the immediate need to address these issues, "It's imperative to expand the dialogue about interoperable communications among public safety officials. It's at the very core of emergency preparedness."

Local participants included: John Melcher, executive director, Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network; Matt Dick, director, Emergency Management Seton Healthcare Network; and Bill Jackson, executive director, Harris County E-Business. Each contributed first-hand examples about public safety concerns and issues.

Nextel is hosting a series of emergency preparedness communications conferences around the country designed to educate government, public safety and education officials.

About Nextel

Nextel Communications, a FORTUNE 200 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Today 95 percent of FORTUNE 500(R) companies are Nextel customers. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc. currently serve 297 of the top 300 U.S. markets where approximately 263 million people live or work.