ONE NUMBER WORLDWIDE SERVICE

The Washington Post reports that the ground-based service will provide mobile phone coverage in 65 countries, including 18 of the world's largest 25 cities, and covers Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America on an all-digital wireless network, a Nextel statement said.

Coverage will be offered via flat-rate payment plans based on the country from which customers are calling, Nextel said. Rates range from $0.99 for most of Europe, $1.99 per minute for Asia, South America and the Middle East, and between $2.99 and $4.99 per minute for some countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, Nextel said.

Customers also will be charged a $5 monthly fee on top of a Nextel domestic service plan, but the monthly fee will be permanently waived for all customers who sign up before June 30, the Reston, Va.-based company said.

Nextel Worldwide customers will get service using the Motorola Inc. i2000 phone, the first and only dual mode iDEN/GSM 100 percent digital cellular phone, which costs $249, Nextel said. The phone has all the usual Nextel bells and whistles, including two-way radio, plus users can choose among English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese menus.

In the United States, Nextel's network runs on a proprietary technology called iDEN, while most of the world runs on GSM.

Nextel is not the first to roll out such service -- Nokia Oyj, Ericsson AB and Motorola have all released models that work in GSM countries.

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