The Kirkland, Wash-based marketer of cellular service says it will put the stores in some of the 58 markets it serves within those 31 states in an effort to improve access to the high end consumer market and improve service to its existing customers, which grew 70% in 2002 to 877,800 subscribers.

A company source tells GlobeSt.com that negotiations for the new locations is "pretty much wrapped up" and that a number of different brokerages were used to make it happen. "We used various depending on the market," says the source.

Publicly traded Nextel Partners has the exclusive right to provide digital wireless communications services using the Nextel brand name in 31 states where approximately 52 million people reside. The company currently has four retail stores in Hawaii and Louisville, Ky., which opened last year. Locations to be added this quarter will include Honolulu, Pensacola, Fla., Temple and McAllen, Texas, and Charlottesville, Va.