Consumer push-to-talk: Does anyone really care ‘where you at?’

Now, even a majority of these users are relying on text messaging in lieu of PTT, he added. This is a trend Sprint is hoping to reverse with the PTT over its CDMA network. PTT customers will have access to a greater variety of more powerful data applications that either were not available, or ran slowly, over iDEN’s network. Sprint will also be able to integrate both specialized and more general business applications into PTT do to the advanced IP architecture of the next-generation network, said Chris Hackett, vice president of business and government solutions at Sprint. PTT over CDMA will also have an increased emphasis on the “push to x” world by offering capabilities like voice messages sent to someone’s email box or programmed reminders and push to send pictures.

“On our rev A EV-DO network, that is 500 megabits upload and 600 download, so I can move a lot more information than in the iDEN world,” Hackett said. “That certainly is a benefit. I can still run applications in the iDEN world, and I can still do voice, but the difference is the speed with which I can get information is faster.”

The migration to CDMA could also improve the network coverage. Nextel’s iDEN network had poor signal strength in a lot of areas, a fact that Chamberlain thinks will lead those loyal users who remain to try out Sprint’s CDMA network or switch to Verizon come this summer. Qualcomm’s QChat technology also faces competition from Kodiak Networks, deployed by Alltel, AT&T and MetroPCS.

Sprint’s key advantage though, Hackett said, is its already large base of PTT subscribers on the iDEN network. Though Sprint’s Direct Connect won’t work with other operator’s PTT services, it works between the CDMA and iDEN network, giving the operator an established customer base of millions that can communicate with the service.

“Until you achieve a level of critical mass, you don’t have anyone to push to talk to,” Hackett said. “That is why we are in such a strong position. We can have customers come to our network and be loyal to it, because they realize that by using our network, they have those capabilities with interoperability between the different businesses or government agencies.”

Chamberlain pointed out that in a business environment, having everyone overhear a conversation might not be as bothersome as in a social setting. Yet, he’s convinced that if features like “push to x” would have worked when Nextel launched in 2003, it might be a different story. Today there is no hole in the market that Sprint can fill, he said. SMS has already done that job. It’s no longer a question of the technology; it’s a matter of customer need. In today’s market, there just isn’t the need, he said. Sprint’s success will largely depend on how it tempers its expectations.

“If they define the market niche and say we want to become a strong player among these users by putting this technology in these vertical organizations, they may have a chance,” Chamberlain said. “If you are going to be successful, you have to define your success carefully. But mass market with every mom using push-to-talk at Disney Land, they’ve missed it. If they’re looking at penetration greater than 1.5% or 2% of their installed base, I’d say they are setting the bar too high.”