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'push to talk' goes global
News.com has article on the latest moves by Nextel in introducing a more "global" version of its popular "push-to-talk" feature: Nextel Communications is exploring whether to offer a global version of its popular "push to talk" walkie-talkie feature for cell phones, as rivals work on their own U.S.-centric versions of the technology.Now, if the call is suddenly being relayed through satellite or a cell, that would make it less of a direct connection between phones, no? It seems that Nextel is quietly moving into the territory of cellphone operators. In the end, hybrid systems like these are what will win in the marketplace IMO. If I can make a direct call to a person in another building around the corner, why shouldn't I? And then, when the receiver is out of direct reach, the infrastructure should be used. It's just common sense. Categories: technology Posted by diego on May 21 2003 at 5:00 PM Comments (please see the comments & trackback policy).
Diego, in Nextel's PTT system, the message is compressed, assembled as a series of packets, and then sent to the (cell) network, that routes it to the proper handheld. The trick here is that (from the cost perspective) is that when you send a message it usually uses the network for a couple of seconds only, and because the message goes one way, there is no need to ACK that the final recipient got it, the terminal must only make sure that the local cell has it. Is basically a store-and-forward system. In Argentina it (and several other countries as well) it's already a cell phone operator. The only country where it does not have decent a market as a cell-phone op is in the US. The company is split in two branches (in the US): Nextel and Nextel International. The former handles local business and the latter only international branches. Posted by: Juan Cruz Nores at May 21, 2003 6:10 PMJuan Cruz is spot on, I really didn't grasp the idea of PTT at first, but if you think of it as a form of VOIP which seems to be what FasTxt are doing with their app on Symbian phones and using GSM/GPRS as the carrier, you can see some of the advantages. This way you only have GPRS costs for the data your phone sends and receives rather than full minute by minute pricing for a long call. Posted by: Jim Hughes at May 22, 2003 12:26 PMCopyright © Diego Doval 2002-2007.
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