![]() Since the competing technologies use different networks, however, the arrival of true interoperability may require government intervention. What's at stake is obvious: The cry from customers to have multi-network access could be especially loud from the enterprise sector, in which a business could find its suppliers using one service, its customers using another, and its workforce still another. Nextel already has nearly 12 million customers Verizon is starting from scratch and will have to work hard and fast to seed the market. Push-to-talk customers can communicate only with others on the same network. "The value of the fast communications goes down when it takes longer," says Keith Waryas, an analyst with IDC. ![]() According to analysts who have tested Verizon's service, it takes approximately the same amount of time to "instantly connect" as it does to make a regular cell-phone call, while Nextel's connection remains truly instantaneous. Verizon's and Sprint's offerings will both route over standard cellular networks. The first challenge is technical: Nextel uses a dedicated radio frequency for Direct Connect calls. While Sprint and Verizon should rightfully give Nextel investors reason for concern, the new competitors face big hurdles in their efforts to steal market share and customers from the leader. And Verizon isn't the only company hoping to join the push-to-talk bandwagon: Sprint ( PCS: Research, Estimates) is expected to announce its own launch later this year. Nextel currently claims 11.7 million customers, 95 percent of whom use Direct Connect, according to a company spokesperson. Verizon's ( VZ: Research, Estimates) entry into the market is the first competition Nextel ( NXTL: Research, Estimates) has seen for its Direct Connect feature, which has almost single-handedly pushed the company to new heights. If you're a Nextel cell-phone customer, you know why you signed up - because of the phones' walkie-talkie feature that recalls the CB radio heyday and '70s trucker films like "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Convoy." But starting today, Verizon customers can join in on all the "breaker breaker" fun: Verizon is launching its version of nationwide "push-to-talk" service. Sign up for the Tech Biz e-mail newsletter In recent years, companies have started offering it over networks that use CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) technology.Verizon's entry into the hot cell-phone walkie-talkie market isn't great news for Nextel.īy Eric Hellweg, CNN/Money Contributing Columnist Until recently, push-to-talk service was only available on networks using iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) technology developed by Motorola Inc. Campbell said, referring to the fact Bell will launch its push-to-talk service after Telus. "I don't think anyone was forecasting a big jump in Bell's revenue from that particular product, so we would see the effect being at the margin," Mr. (Bell Canada is owned by BCE Inc., which also controls Bell Globemedia, owner of The Globe and Mail and the CTV television network.) The Montreal-based company had targeted a launch deadline of 2004 for walkie-talkie service on its CDMA network, but has delayed it until some time in "early 2005," spokeswoman Nessa Prendergast said. Yesterday, Bell Canada confirmed its "continued interest" in the push-to-talk market. introduced push-to-talk products in 2003 to challenge Nextel Communications Inc.'s hold on the market. Competition in Canada's push-to-talk market has developed more slowly than in the United States, where Sprint Corp.
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