Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Push-to-Talk: Nextel Is Still the One to Beat

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 16:03:45 -0400

Push-to-Talk: Nextel Is Still the One to Beat

For now, Verizon's version is nowhere near as good as Nextel's

Nextel (NXTL ) Communications is finally getting some respect. The
wireless-phone carrier is known for its oddball technology, clunky
handsets, and a heavily blue-collar customer base. But mostly it's
known for its push-to-talk feature that allows its phones to be used
as walkie-talkies. Suddenly, however, everyone wants a piece of the
walkie-talkie action.

Verizon (VZ ) Wireless is the first competitor to take advantage of
technological and regulatory changes that allow other carriers to
imitate the Nextel service. In testing both, I found that Verizon's
offering is nowhere near as good as Nextel's. But AT&T Wireless (AWE )
and Sprint PCS (PCS ) are readying their own versions, and my guess is
that within a couple of years, good push-to-talk capability will be
standard on many wireless phones.

cell phone Direct Connect, as Nextel calls its service, is easy to
use. To begin a connection, you select a Direct Connect in the phone's
contact list and press a button to send an alert. (You also can
connect with several people at once, but these groups must be set up
for you by Nextel.) You then press and hold a button on the side of
the phone to talk. When you release the button, others in the
conversation hear a beep indicating that it is O.K. for someone else
to talk.

A DIRECT CONNECT CONVERSATION produces a different experience from a
regular call. The push-to-talk feature tends to discourage people from
rambling. And because you have the floor for as long as you hold down
the talk button, there are no interruptions. Direct Connect has made
Nextel popular among construction workers, delivery drivers, and
others who are used to working with two-way radios. Until recently,
push-to-talk worked only within a local service area, but Nextel
recently made it available nationwide in a bid to broaden its appeal
beyond the blue-collar market. National plans with unlimited Direct
Connect start at $60 a month.

Unlike many wireless carriers, Nextel is profitable, with the highest
revenue per customer in the business, and it is likely to keep its
push-to-talk edge for a while. Other carriers have to emulate the
two-way radio service built into Nextel's unique iDEN technology and,
as is usually the case, emulation doesn't work as well as the real
thing. Verizon's push-to-talk superficially works like Nextel's. But
it takes 10 to 15 seconds after you push the button to establish a
connection, something Nextel phones do almost instantaneously. More
annoying, there's a delay of at least five seconds after you speak
before the person on the other end hears what you've said. The result
is a painful pause each time one person finishes speaking.

Verizon is selling push-to-talk primarily as a service for all
business types. For the time being, at least, it is matching Nextel
with a $60-a-month plan, including unlimited push-to-talk. The only
phone currently available is a Motorola (MOT ) V60p, a slightly
smaller but less capable imitation of Motorola's Nextel handsets.
Unlike nearly all phones in its $150 price class, it lacks a color
display. Oddly, although push-to-talk uses Verizon's advanced data
capabilities, the V60p handset offers no data services, such as e-mail
-- while Nextel's does. Verizon will offer more capable phones in
coming months.

A company called fastmobile offers a sort of do-it-yourself
push-to-talk service on GSM networks (including AT&T, Cingular,
T-Mobile (DT ), and most carriers outside of North America). Its
$3.95-a-month "fastchat" service works on some Nokia (NOK ) and Sony
Ericsson phones, including the popular Nokia 3650. Although it
inconveniently uses one of the standard phone buttons instead of a
special push-to-talk button on the side, the service works much like
Verizon's.

I doubt Verizon's offering will be a big hit in its present form. But
it, and other carriers, will approach Nextel's service over time --
and a technology once derided as the essence of blue-collar
communications is becoming hip.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_41/b3853046.htm

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