Sprint Nextel's iDEN wireless gets $50-per-month plan

All of a sudden, iDEN is showing a surge in activity with the rollout of a $50-per-month unlimited calling plan from Sprint-owned Boost Mobile and the revelation of a $2 billion US government funding bid by Sprint.

First developed by Motorola back in the mid-1990s, later supported by Nextel, and then inherited by Sprint, iDEN is still used by emergency responders, along with dwindling numbers of other subscribers. The technology combines cell phones with trunked radios.

Since its buyout of Nextel, Sprint has been struggling with integrating iDEN into a wireless services line-up that has also included its own CDMA network and 4G WiMAX holdings recently spun off to a Clearwire joint venture. Nextel subscribers are down by about one-third since the acquisition, according to some accounts.

But on Monday, Boost Mobile -- "a division of Sprint Corp. that offers wireless phones an services with no contracts, credit checks or activation fees" -- unveiled a new unlimited calling, text, Web and push-to-talk plan for iDEN priced at $50 per month.

Meanwhile, it came to light last Friday that Sprint sent a letter to President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team earlier this month requesting $2 billion in funding for a revamped nationwide first responders' network.

Sprint's new $50 per month prepaid plan for iDEN is set to go live on January 22, and it is reportedly tailored to consumers facing tough economic times. Up to now, Boost has offered an iDEN plan priced at $70 per month -- including 600 daytime minutes and unlimited night and weekend access -- along with a $70 per month plan in "select markets" for CDMA.

MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc. -- which also offer no-contract, unlimited calling plans -- both thrived during the fourth quarter of 2008, attributing their strong financial results to users wanting to get a firmer grip on their wireless spending.

Along with the $50 plan, Sprint also announced that it will introduce new phones, including a candy-bar device and possibly a smartphone.

Sprint recently said that its edition of RIM's BlackBerry Curve will run specifically on the Nextel portion of its network.

On its Web site, Sprint has now announced that Tim Donahue, VP of marketing for iDEN, and John Tudhope, director of product commercialization, will conduct a chat with users on its Buzz About Wireless blog. In the chat session on January 21, the iDEN execs will be fielding questions about "Nextel Direct Connect, new products, applications and iDEN network performance."

In their letter to the Obama transition team on January 6, though, Sprint Nextel execs specifically asked for funding for a $2 billion emergency network to help first responders communicate better during disasters. Sprint's funding proposal calls for 100 satellite-based light trucks for emergency response, along with at least 100,000 mobile handsets and equipment at up to 40 pre-selected sites.