Yes, you read that right. NEXTEL has been selected as a communications supplier for the SuperBowl LIV, held on February 2, 2020. Sort of.
Now, since Sprint bought Nextel in 2004 and they turned off the iDEN network in 2013 – 7 years ago- how is this possible?
First, it’s not the on-field radios – those are BOSE headsets – and BOSE pays a pretty penny for that. And, Verizon is the official wireless sponsor.
No, these are for an unnamed security company who will use them during the “big game.”
But in any case, HOW is “Nextel” doing this?
Ask the three people who believe they now own the name. Jose Rivera Jeff Kaplan and Steve Calabrese began trying to bring back the Nextel mark several years ago. They’ve been active marketing at PoC (Push over Cellular) service under the Nextel brand and have found some success in the transportation and security markets.
Of course, Sprint disagrees and has sued them. The litigation revolves around the status of Sprint’s ownership of the Nextel trademark.
Rivera, Kaplan and Calabrese argue that under federal trademark law, Sprint abandoned the Nextel trademark because of lack of use. However, Sprint argues that it never abandoned the Nextel trademark because the carrier still uses it on the packaging of certain Sonim Strike phones that it sells, and that the three partners behind Nextel Worldwide are illegally profiting off of its trademark.
Read the entire article here
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One comment on “Nextel Selected as Communication Supplier for Super Bowl LIV – Wait… What?”
[…] As we mentioned a while back a company called RetroBrands started using the Nextel name and brand, claiming it was abandoned by T-Mobile after they bought Sprint. […]