PUSH-TO-TALK UPDATE:fastmobile adds U.S. sales partner

While big boys Nextel Communications and Verizon Wireless grapple with one another over push-to-talk customers, fastmobile, a small fry indirect competitor, has added a major independent distributor to its list of retail partners.

The Schaumburg, Ill.-based software and applications provider behind the fastchat push-to-talk and messaging service has announced a new distribution agreement with New York-based American Connections, LLC (ACL), the third largest independent wireless master retail agent in the U.S. ACL sells services from many large carriers, including AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel, Verizon and T-Mobile.

Under fastmobile’s Master Agent program, ACL will begin selling fastchat at more than 1100 stores and points of presence across the country within the next few weeks. Harry Eschel, co-founder and vice president of fastmobile, said the company is now working with ACL sales people to train them to demonstrate the fastchat application.

Unlike other push-to-talk technologies, fastchat can be downloaded from the Internet to a variety of phone models, which cuts the cost and labor of the handset customization, required for other push-to-talk handsets. At the ACL stores, fastchat will be available on two or three handsets using the Symbian operating system including the Nokia 3650, Eschel said. He added that fastmobile currently is working on a version of its software for devices using the Microsoft PocketPC and Smartphone interfaces.

“This Christmas is going to be a time to hustle up our marketing efforts, with a lot of new phones coming out,” Eschel said.

Ken Engel, executive vice president at ACL, said his firm is looking forward to adding fastchat to its sales roster. "Because fastchat works across networks and global boundaries, it delivers on a strong market need among some of our key customer segments: Namely, putting businesses, friends and families located across the world in close and easy contact with each other at a very competitive cost.”

ACL is the second major retail partner fastmobile has landed in as many weeks. Last week, the fastmobile hooked up with the Caudwell Group, a U.K. distributor that sells devices from all four of the U.K.’s mobile operators.

Eschel said fastmobile also is talking with carriers about being distributors or private label partners for fastchat.