Family tracking

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.nextel (More info?)

I was interested in using the Nextel GPS enabled phone to track my
family (as well as allow them to track me), but it seems like a pretty
expensive proposition.

Basically: $90 for Family share @ 1200 + 3*$19 for add-a-phone = $127.
Then, I have to add on $9.95*4 = $40 for making each one enabled for
Total Connect @ 1 MB. That makes $167. Then, I add on a service like
ulocate.com, which would be around $40, making for a grand total of
about $207.

This seems pretty steep, but possible manageable.

First, does the GPS tracking work well? Does it fall-back to cell
tracking if the phone is in a backpack or something?
Second, is there any cheaper way to do this kind of thing?

Thanks!