Nextel and Motorola Keep Runners and Fans Connected During 2001 New York City Marathon By Launching Innovative Athlete Alert Program

Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL) and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) have signed with New York Road Runners to be signature sponsors of the 2001 New York City Marathon(R), and are the "Official Wireless Communications Providers" of this year's race, which takes place on November 4.

Nextel/Motorola Athlete Alert Program Launched

As part of their commitment, the companies have launched the Nextel/Motorola Athlete Alert Program, which allows fans to receive up-to-the-minute updates about their favorite runners on their mobile phones.

For the first time, fans will be able to follow the progress of official race registrants along the race route at the Start Line, 10 Kilometer, 13.1-Mile Half-Marathon, 20 Mile and Finish Line checkpoints through automatic alerts sent via the New York Road Runners website to their digital mobile phone, text pager or any other device with an Internet e-mail address.

Runners will wear small transponder chips, called the ChampionChip, the size of a quarter affixed to their shoes. As they run over mats set up at strategic locations along the race route, a device will record the runners and register their time. This information is then instantly transmitted via Nextel's wireless data network to the Marathon's web site.

Individuals can register to receive alerts by entering a runner's bib number or name at www.nycmarathon.org. Aestiva, a leader in Web-based computing and the official sponsor of the NYC Marathon Web site, has designed the Athlete Alert Program and web site. Visit them at www.aestiva.com.

Keeping NYRR Connected

Nextel and Motorola are also providing phones with digital wireless telephone service and Nextel Direct Connect(R) digital two-way radio service to New York Road Runners, organizer of the New York City Marathon.

Some of the wireless phones will be used for the Nextel/Motorola Athletes Village Phone Home Service at the Start Staging area at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, as well as the Family Reunion Area at Central Park West.

"It's a pleasure for Nextel to be part of the New York City Marathon," said John Battaglia, vice president, customer operations for Nextel. "By providing our advanced technology services, we can allow individuals to personally track their favorite runners over the Nextel network, and ultimately help them feel more connected. We're also helping New York City Marathon organizers keep in touch and run things more efficiently."

"Instant, reliable communications are critical for an event like the New York City Marathon, which has more than two million spectators and 30,000 runners," said Peter Aloumanis, Motorola vice president and director of US Market Operations for the iDEN Subscriber Group. "Motorola phones with Nextel Direct Connect two-way radio service can provide Marathon organizers, fans and runners with a convenient way to keep in touch, while the Athlete Alert Program can help fans track the progress of their favorite runners."

"We are pleased to partner with two of the leaders in the wireless communications field," said Ann Hinegardner, vice president of sales and marketing for New York Road Runners. "We are always looking for ways to enhance the experience of the New York City Marathon for the runners and the spectators, and the Athlete Alert Program does just that in championship style."

The 32nd running of the New York City Marathon will take place on Sunday, November 4. More than 30,000 participants are expected with over two million spectators lining the five-borough race course.

About Nextel

Nextel Communications, with local offices in Elmsford, NY, serves customers throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

Nextel Communications Inc., 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 United States covering thousands of communities across the United States. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc., currently serve 188 of the top 200 U.S. markets.

Through recent market launches, Nextel and Nextel Partners service is available today in areas of the U.S. where approximately 220 million people live or work. In addition, through Nextel International, Inc., Nextel has wireless operations and investments in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, Peru, Chile and Japan.

About Motorola

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. For more information visit www.motorola.com.

iDEN handsets combine the capabilities of digital wireless phone with "always on" Internet access, text pager, and two-way radio to enable users to instantly communicate with one or hundreds of individuals at the push of a button. For further information on iDEN phones, visit www.motorola.com/iden.

About Aestiva, LLC

Aestiva is a leader in Web-based computing. Its technology operates on Unix, Linux, Windows and Macintosh hardware and is well known for its speed and scalability. Aestiva's focus on the Web has made it the favorite development platform for thousands of Web designers worldwide. For more information, visit Aestiva's Web site at http://www.aestiva.com.

About New York Road Runners

Founded in 1958 with a membership of 47, today New York Road Runners (NYRR) is the largest, most active running organization in the world with more than 35,000 members from every U.S. state and more than 100 countries around the globe. NYRR is a not-for-profit organization that stages more than 90 events a year and is dedicated to promoting the sport of running for health, recreation and competition and provides full professional services related to all aspects of racing, including course certification, computer scoring and event promotion.

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