Nextel no longer exists. Here is what happened to the Nextel push-to-talk network and what to do if you are looking for an old Nextel number or account.
Nextel is gone
Sprint shut down the Nextel iDEN network on June 30, 2013. Sprint and Nextel had merged in August 2005, and Sprint kept the Nextel name on its push-to-talk service until the network closed.
If you had a Nextel line
Sprint pushed iDEN customers to Sprint Direct Connect, a push-to-talk service on Sprint’s CDMA network. Sprint itself merged into T-Mobile on April 1, 2020, so the carrier of record for any surviving line is now T-Mobile.
How Nextel ended
- 1987: The company that became Nextel started as FleetCall.
- 1993: FleetCall changed its name to Nextel.
- August 2005: Sprint and Nextel closed their merger. Sprint kept Nextel as a product brand.
- June 30, 2013: Sprint turned off the iDEN network at 12:01 a.m. Eastern.
- After the shutdown: Sprint moved iDEN users to Sprint Direct Connect on its CDMA network and offered migration deals.
The history of Nextel
Nextel ran iDEN, a push-to-talk network. Sprint’s closing notice told iDEN customers they could move to Sprint Direct Connect, which runs on Sprint’s CDMA network. Sprint and Nextel merged in 2005, so for the last eight years of its life Nextel was a brand inside Sprint, not an independent carrier.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified Nextel
Best Cellular tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this Nextel page comes from at least two independent sources, listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. Nextel counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Nextel
Is Nextel still in business?
No. Sprint shut down the Nextel iDEN network on June 30, 2013. Sprint later merged into T-Mobile.
Who bought Nextel?
Sprint. The two companies closed their merger in August 2005, and the combined company was called Sprint Nextel.
What was Nextel iDEN?
iDEN was the push-to-talk network Nextel ran. Sprint switched it off on June 30, 2013 and moved users to Sprint Direct Connect.
Can I port a number out of Nextel?
Nextel no longer runs a network, so there is no Nextel account to port from. Port from the carrier that bills you today.
Does BestCellular.com list Nextel as an active carrier?
No. We track Nextel as a defunct carrier. It counts toward our tracked total but not our active total.
Sources and verification
Facts checked October 11, 2026 against at least two independent sources:
- Urgent Communications: Sprint says farewell to Nextel iDEN network: the June 30, 2013 shutdown.
- Converge Digest: Sprint’s iDEN Nextel shuts down: the iDEN shutdown and migration.
- Sprint Nextel SEC filing, 2005: the 2005 merger.
- La Opinión: Sprint to cease service on its iDEN network: migration to Sprint Direct Connect.
Best Cellular. “Nextel: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/nextel/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Live carriers to look at instead
Sprint’s customers became T-Mobile customers after the April 1, 2020 merger.