By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 20, 2003, 1:19 PM PT
Nextel Communications is exploring whether to offer a global version
of its popular "push to talk" cell phone walkie-talkie feature, as
rivals work on their own U.S.-centric versions of the technology.
Speaking at the Lehman Brothers Global Wireless 2003 Conference in New
York, Nextel Chief Executive Tim Donahue said the carrier might rely
on satellites to expand its cell phone network. If so, the company
would be among the biggest mergers of cell phone and satellite
networks to date.
Nextel is the only wireless carrier to introduce push to talk
technology, which creates an instant connection between two cell
phones. Because there's no time spent dialing or making a connection
to the network, the calls are shorter and less expensive. It's become
one of Nextel's most important features, representing about 70 percent
of the calls over the company's network.
Click Here.
Nextel's push to talk service, called DirectConnect, is only available
in certain regions of the United States, linking phones within the
same region. By August, the service will be able to connect callers
anywhere in the United States. Analysts believe the next logical step
for Nextel is to make it an international service.
"We are now exploring the opportunity and the capabilities to have a
global DirectConnect product," Donahue said during his address.
But a Nextel representative cautioned that a worldwide DirectConnect
service is only one of several future developments the company is
exploring, and if it ever is developed, it would be offered
commercially "way off in the future."
Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless plan to introduce push to talk
services, probably sometime in the next few months. But these services
are likely to be offered only piecemeal as the carriers work out the
kinks. Representatives from both carriers have repeatedly refused to
provide any additional details about their upcoming push to talk
offerings. |
