Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mobile carriers are finally catching on to Nextel's walkie-talkie technology.

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 20:34:19 -0500

Wireless carriers: push to talk

20 Mar 2003

Mobile carriers are finally catching on to Nextel's walkie-talkie technology.

Companies supposedly at the cutting edge of communications are
about to launch a service that is now more than 10 years old.
Following Nextel's success, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens have
teamed up to develop "walkie-talkie" style communications. Many
carriers were sidetracked by enthusiasm about data services and
lost their focus on the key communications purpose of phones.
The idea of "push to talk" (PTT), which enables users to engage in
"walkie-talkie" communications with one or more people on the
network, was pioneered in the US by Nextel Communications, and
the company's success with the concept has forced its rivals to look
for ways to offer the service.Even the major European suppliers are
now developing the technology. Last month, Ericsson, Nokia and
Siemens said they were joining forces to promote a unified system
for PTT over GPRS and EDGE networks. They were clearly prompted
by the two US GSM operators, AT&T Wireless and Cingular
Wireless.Nextel was able to launch its walkie-talkie system more
than a decade ago, operating over Motorola's iDen network. However,
similar networks such as Tetra exist in other countries. So why didn't
operators attempt to replicate Nextel's success earlier?The only
explanation for the collective myopia is operators' obsession with
data. They were not looking at Nextel because they were mesmerized
by the success of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service in Japan. That led to
the plunge into WAP.Tiny imaginations led to a belief that the world
would soon be full of users peering at websites on tiny screens, and
that the mCommerce billions would soon be pouring in. In fact, the
success of SMS should have told them what their customers wanted.
PTT is simply its oral equivalent. Combined with location technology,
which can, for example, alert a user when a friend is in the
neighborhood, it is something that can significantly enhance the user
experience.The problem is that mobile phone operators forgot the
purpose of a phone. It may be smaller, cuter and portable, but it is
still the same instrument developed by Alexander Graham Bell. It is a
means by which people can communicate over distance. And
companies like Nextel that stick to this reality will always prosper over
their rivals.Related research: Datamonitor: "Mobile Consumer
Update; data data data" (DMTC0864)You can download a FREE
telecoms report at www.dmfreereports.com

http://www.Datamonitor.com/~a45a7cfd85a248139801db0220fb81c3~/all/news/product.asp?pid=69D14D41-F973-4281-91C9-9F509FA7223F

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