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Verizon Rolling Out Nextel-Like PTT Service
aberson writes "Verizon Wireless announced today that it is rolling out a PTT (push to talk) phone service, targetted at business customers. They claim better coverage, 'presence' (away/available), and wireless web for about $10 more than Nextel and $10 more than a non-PTT Verizon plan. Pricing doesn't mention how 'high-speed' data will roll into this (which you can't get on Nextel), but you are using the CDMA2000 network to essentially do VoIP. If only it could be something cross-networkable like Sonim. Just wait a few months for the other carriers to catch up and cellular number portability to be enforced. Ironically, you can only get it on a Motorola made phone. Also, Verizon seems to be not caring about Nextel trying to copyright a generic technical term."
They managed to come up with something more annoying that cell phones. Everyone walking around with publicly broadcasting walkie talkies. Great idea. More noise for us all.
Blame the user, not the technology. Every Nextel phone I've seen lets you turn off the group speaker and use PTT with the phone to your ear. It's too bad more users don't figure out how to do that.
Promote civility: mod down any post starting with 'ummm'.
Why are they implementing this as a push to talk feature?
It seems to me that PTT isn't going to save them much bandwidth because human conversation tends to be mostly half duplex anyway. Since it's a packet-switched network, it's not like you're using a dedicated circuit (like in a walkie-talkie or analog phone line) when you're not conversing. Keeping the connection up shouldn't cost much bandwidth at all. If they're using something like TDMA from the phone to the transmitter, you should use almost no bandwidth there keeping the connection open either.
Shouldn't packet switching and TDMA like technologies make the walkie-talkie limitations irrelevant?
I've always thought that this was a way of making the service just inconvenient enough to use that users don't burn so many hours. They don't want me spending my entire commute talking to my wife.
Jut wondering.
Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
I'm curious as to how this and Nextel phones are seen by laws such as the ones in NYC. Since there are provisions in the law that continue for the use of CB radios without hand free devices, shouldn't these be allowed to be used without handfree devices in cars when you're using the PTT feature? I know they don't transmit over the CB frequencies and that's why State Laws can't overpower federal regulations. But if I got a ticket for using my PTT phone in New York without handsfree, I would think I would have a good fight in court
One of my friends had a Verizon cell phone at work (Brooklyn). Everybody else's cell phones (and the office phone) weren't working but his Verizon cell phone was. He said that the only time it was down was 9/11. After noticing this I decided that if I get a cell phone it'll be Verizon and I'll reccomend it to friends.