Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The Value Of A Second

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 22:15:50 -0500

The Value Of A Second

By Rhonda Wickham,
Editor at Large
Wireless Week

December 1, 2003

Carriers have been reaching for the bar set by Nextel Communications Inc.
with its Direct Connect service. Sprint PCS' Ready Link is the latest
instant-talk market entrant with claims of near-Nextel intra-call latency.
When Verizon Wireless launched its push-to-talk service last August, it
became the latency poster child due to noticeable drags in call setup.

Nextel charts less than one-second call setup and real-time intra-call
latency. By contrast, Verizon Wireless was calibrated at several seconds for
call setup and a second or so between the push-to-talk action and actual
receipt. Sprint PCS says its Ready Link provides two- to three-second call
setup latency and almost near real-time for conversations.

Even though we live in a world geared toward faster is better, I find myself
wondering if that second or two really matters. After all, if I physically
dial a friend, wait while the calls set up, ring through and he picks up, I
would tick off at least 20 seconds even with speed dial and immediate pickup
on his end. Different service and need, but really by comparison, a second
or two doesn't seem like that big of a deal. However, a recent reality check
drove the point home clearly.

Street crews working next to my office last week severed a gas main in two
places. Natural gas was spurting out, filling the air and adjacent buildings
with noxious and potentially explosive fumes. One tiny spark could have
blown the block off the map. That one incident revealed the critical
importance of having truly instantaneous communications so crew members
could clear the area, contact the fire department and get the gas company to
shut off the gas. Every second counted.

While most enterprise uses of instantaneous talk aren't quite as
life-threatening, it illustrates the value in delivering "instantaneous
talk" in real time, not virtual real time. With compression software
schemes, it won't be long until rival carriers are competitively matching
performance for this service.

With that said, the next competitive hurdles will be coverage and
inter-carrier PTT. Some carriers, such as Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless,
are using their data networks and VoIP to carry the service. To date, data
networks don't necessarily have the same coverage as voice networks. This
will become a critical imperative as this feature gains popularity,
particularly with the consumer segment.

Compete Inc., which provides predictive analytics on consumer behavior,
recently suggested that PTT subscribers might be subtly locked into staying
with their current carrier because once they have set up their kith and kin
networks it will be too cumbersome to switch carriers. This sounds oddly
reminiscent of the IM wars between AOL and others. While the service might
initially begin as a walled garden kind of community, consumers will press
for interoperability across devices as well as networks if the service is to
take off.

As a starting step, consider what happens if CDMA carriers establish
inter-carrier PTT services-say, between Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS. It
would not only provide enterprises and consumers flexibility in carriers but
further would marginalize Nextel's corner on the market.

Bottom line, recent PTT developments prove that the value of a second,
time-wise, is critical, but the value of a second . and a third,
carrier-wise, changes the game altogether.

Author Information
Rhonda Wickham is editor at large for Wireless Week. She can be reached at
[email-masked] or 913-209-8080.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA338970?spacedesc=Departments&stt=000

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