Nextel hails a cab

Nextel Communications announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Long Island City, N.Y.-based Aleph, which makes software and hardware that enable cab companies and limousine services to use wireless dispatching. These products, for example, let a dispatcher send instructions about a cab's next pickup to a wireless device sitting on a cab's dashboard. Nextel said it plans to sell services based on the Aleph software and hardware to its customers. In return, Aleph gets to use Nextel's national network to route its services.