Barry West makes waves with innovative features

Differentiation in the mobile phone market is hard to come by, but Nextel's Communications’ Direct Connect feature sets the company apart. CTO and Executive Vice President Barry J. West, a 25-year veteran of British Telecom, in 2003 led Nextel in extending this “walkie-talkie” feature. Now Customers can use it nationwide as well as regionally.

West’s next project for Nextel: “vocoder” technology, which will enable the company to double the voice capacity of its wireless network without spending billions on upgrading base stations. Because ISVs also develop data applications for Nextel’s phones, West’s efforts to expand the network form the underpinning of possible advancements to mobile communications. He recognizes that maintaining progress for cutting-edge technologies isn’t easy. “It is always tempting in a financial crunch to target programs with long payoffs, but the CTO has to be the guardian of the future,” he says.