Sprint Nextel Corporation has decided to expand its new push-to-talk service in 47 new regions across the US.

From June 15, Sprint will start selling four handsets that can use the new Nextel Direct Connect service in these regions.

Since buying Nextel in 2005, Sprint has confronted the challenge of controlling two mismatched networks.

Nextel phones have a push-to-talk feature, which was popular among construction crews and other mobile workers, but don’t work on the similar network as Sprint.

The new Nextel Direct Connect feature processes Sprint’s network, at least in the fields where the network has been promoted to support it. This offers Sprint the alternative of prompting Nextel subscribers to its individual network.

The new service will be launched in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The phones are from LG, Samsung and Sanyo that cost between $49.99 and $99.99 along with two-year contracts.