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