Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Word of mouth-Paul Migliorini, push-to-talk manager for Motorola Says "We're talking to 95 carriers"

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 04:10:54 -0500

Word of mouth

By Nicole Manktelow
February 7, 2004

Breaker, breaker ..." Remember walkie-talkies, code words and
"copy that"? In today's mobile world, could the humble two-way
make a comeback? That's a 10-4 good buddy.

It's not that manufacturer's are feeling nostalgic. Instead, they're
making a fuss about a new mobile phone concept called
"push-to-talk".

It's a bit like a two-way radio call and allows mobile users to
broadcast to a group, or reach an individual instantly, by pressing a
button on an otherwise standard-looking handset.

Compared with today's video calls, multimedia messages and
camera phones, push-to-talk sounds positively old-fashioned, but it
is being described as the first destination on a roadmap of new
phone applications.

Always keen to sell, vendors are pushing the virtues of push-to-talk,
hoping to interest Australian carriers in providing a service that's
popular with consumers.

While there are business uses, the talk about push-to-talk is that
families and friends will use it when they can't be bothered to tap
out an SMS. In a country where we send millions of text messages a
month, that's a lot of pushing and talking. Unlike walkie-talkies,
which communicate handset to handset over a limited range, users
with push-to-talk can communicate across a mobile network. The
service is not a voice connection, rather, the transmission will use
data, via a technology called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The habits of
internet users,
with technologies
such as Instant
Messaging, have
further inspired
the concept with
buddy lists.
Push-to-talk users
can refer to a
buddy list stored
on their phones to
see who's busy
and who's
available for a
chat.

"We feel it's a
voice version of instant messaging. You can see who's online,
whether they want to talk or if they are around," says Anthony Petts,
market development manager for Ericsson Australia, which calls
push-to-talk "Instant Talk".

"There's a need for a simple connection from the phone that's
easier than sending a text," Petts says. "Is it easier to send a
message or press a button and talk?"

In Australia, this is the scenario that vendors are hoping will tempt
carriers. Nokia has released Australia's first push-to-talk mobile
handsets, but there's no network here yet.

"We have two contracts in Asia, but can't disclose where," says Paul
Migliorini, push-to-talk manager for Motorola Asia Pacific. In
Australia, he says, "we'll probably see a push-to-talk call this year".

An international standard for push-to-talk technology, still being
formulated, is due for completion mid-year. At the moment there are
only two commercial mobile networks utilising this technology -
Verizon and Sprint in the United States. Elsewhere, vendors are
ramping up their pitch.

"We're talking to 95 carriers, 35 in Asia," says Migliorini. Motorola,
which provides technology to Verizon and Sprint, claims a 75-year
history in two-way technology.

"It works on a regular GPRS or CDMA 1X phone," says Migliorini. All
major Australian carriers offer GPRS-enabled networks. Telstra has
the only CDMA 1X investment - the technology being used to
upgrade the mobile network that covers country areas.

Push-to-talk is considered the first of a new wave of applications
based on IMS (IP multimedia subsystem), which is essentially a
mechanism allowing multimedia services to work together smoothly.

"IMS is another evolution," says Petts. "[Currently] I can send a
picture on MMS [picture messaging], but not while I am talking to
you on the phone. With IMS, I could send that picture while I am
talking."

Voice chat rooms (which sound suspiciously similar to conference
calls) are also on the drawing board for the generation to come. For
the moment, however, vendors will concentrate on getting
consumers used to the idea of pushing and talking.

The launch of Nokia's 5140 handset is a bid to raise local customer
interest. So far none of Australia's carriers have indicated much
interest, but Nokia Australia's general manager, Alex Lambeek, is
confident that it won't be long before the phones have a network to
call home.

"We're negotiating with all the carriers as we speak," Lambeek says,
adding that it would only be a matter of months to get a carrier up
and running.

Other handsets won't be far behind. Push-to-talk can be added to
an existing phone format, with some additional software, an extra
button and perhaps a louder speakerphone. "It's not radically
different. You won't look like a Martian with a PTT phone," Lambeck
says.

As always, the number of customers who eventually take up a
service, if or when launched, will hinge on the price tag. Most likely,
carriers will price the service somewhere in the vicinity of the text
and multimedia messaging services.

"It could be priced between an SMS and an MMS. That's what the
US has put to the market," says Ericsson's Petts.

[email-masked]

 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/06/1075854057892.html
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