Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Push comes to shove for "push to talk"

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:43:26 -0500

Push comes to shove for "push to talk"

By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 17, 2003, 5:21 PM PT

NEW ORLEANS--A shoving match between wireless giants has erupted over a cell phone
technology called "push-to-talk."

Developed by Motorola, the technology turns cell phones into walkie-talkies by connecting
to other
phones without dialing and within just a few seconds.

The cell phone network gear used for the feature has now been replicated by Ericsson,
which introduced
its Instant Talk cell phone network equipment here Monday at the CTIA Wireless 2003 show.
Ericsson
has begun offering the telephone network equipment and specially made handsets to carriers
throughout
the world, said Ericsson Director Peter Lancia.

Another telephone equipment maker, Samsung Telecommunications America, said Monday that it
has
hired Togabi, a wireless software maker, to develop a push-to-talk feature its calling
PacketChat.
Samsung has not said when this will become available.

There's also a battle brewing among Nextel Communications--the only U.S. carrier now
offering the
service--Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS.

Verizon will launch a similar service sometime this year, Vice President Bill Stone said
Monday. Sprint
PCS has said in the past that it also intends to make a similar offering to its
subscribers.

One of the key benefits of the push-to-talk feature is a shorter-than-normal cell phone
call, which cuts
down on dialing costs. Nextel Communications has made billions of dollars selling the
service to
construction companies, trucking firms and others who once used walkie-talkie-like devices
to instantly
connect to others.

Nextel Communications President Tim Donahue said his company will not suffer when
competitive
services are finally introduced here in the United States and abroad.

He claimed that other carriers are having difficulty matching the performance of Nextel's
DirectConnect
service, which connects callers in less than two seconds. Competitors are much slower,
connecting in
10 and 25 seconds, he said.

"There will be another product eventually, although Verizon and Sprint PCS keep pushing
their dates
back," Donahue said. "But we don't think they will get anywhere near us."

But what Ericsson's Instant Talk might lack in speed, it will make up for in new features
not offered by
Nextel's DirectConnect service, Lancia said.

Instant Talk will work on more cell phone networks, including those built using Global
System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), the world's most popular cell phone standard, and Qualcomm's Code
Division
Multiple Access (CDMA), which powers about 18 percent of the world's cell phone networks,
Lancia said.

Motorola's technology was built to work on just one kind of network. Nextel is the only
carrier in the
nation using IDEN (Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network).

Unlike DirectConnect, Lancia said, Instant Talk gear will also include a buddy list
similar those found in
instant messaging programs. In addition, the gear's "direct message" feature will offer a
service similar to
voice mail. Users will be able to play back messages sent while the phone was off or out
of range, he
said.

"We are seeing a lot of interest for this product, both here and in Europe," Lancia said.

A Motorola representative had no comment Monday.

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