Nextel Launches Service in Central Pennsylvania
Nextel Partners officially launched its wireless network with Nextel service in the greater Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York areas. Coverage will extend from the city of Harrisburg to the frequently traveled corridors of Interstate 76 East to Philadelphia and Trenton, Interstate 81 North to Lebanon, and Interstate 83 South to the Maryland state line. Customers will pay no long-distance fees calling anywhere within the greater Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster areas. The launch expands Nextel's regional coverage, which already includes Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Baltimore, MD; Wilmington, DE, and Washington DC.
As part of its launch, the company announced "Nextel's Promise," a five-promise pledge to improve the lives of youth in local communities. Included in the pledge is a $5,000 donation to local non-profit America's Promise, which will be raised through an outdoor dawn-to-dusk walk-a-thon with Nextel Partners staff held at John Harris High School. (Of this donation, $2,000 will be used to fund a national America's Promise internship in Colin Powell's office in Washington, DC, this summer for former East Pensboro High School student Tiffany Elliott.)
The company also is donating 15 phones and free local service for a year to the Harrisburg City School District and to the School District of Lancaster, to help increase safety of students, educators, and staff at local schools.