Push2Talk

I still distinctly remember the best birthday gift I got as a child, my very own walkie-talkie. I was so fascinated by communications without wires that my friends and I would use up a bunch of batteries practically daily because of excessive usage. All I needed to do was push a button and I could instantly talk with my partner. Well, you’d think that was technology cremated long ago, especially with the advent of GSM, CDMA and satellite phones, everyone and anyone from any part of the globe was just a few taps away. Guess again.

In recent weeks, American telecom giants just revealed that they will begin push-to-talk or "walkie-talkie" testing by mid-year. Even network vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens say they’ll issue an open-standard network specification for push-to-talk over GSM networks within the next two months, in uncharacteristic haste if I may say so. Such development was probably brought about by the urgency for telcos to improve on revenues and match Nextel Communications’ success with its unique service. Push-to-talk is now being hailed as the next killer-app.

Numbers speak for themselves for the success of Nextel’s push-to-talk service. ARPU or average revenue per user for Nextel is the highest in the industry at $71 as compared to AT&T’s $60 and Cingular’s $51. Nextel’s customer churn or "switching" is the lowest at 2.1 percent as compared to AT&T’s and Cingular’s 2.6 percent. In the light of current economic and competitive conditions, these numbers are enviable.

Is the consumer market speaking out loud on a specific value-added service it wants from a provider? One thing is for sure, if cellular telecom giants are to offer the same push-to-talk service, the quality of service that exists with Nextel’s, a call set-up time limit of no more than one second should be paralleled. This speed is core to the service, any longer it would be almost like making a cellular call. Such quality of connection time requires constantly tracking the handset on a network, which network suppliers claim that GSM and CDMA currently cannot handle as efficiently. I’m curious to see the outcome of this endeavor in the American market and if it could apply here to our local wireless market.

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Chikka Asia just recently launched a text messaging facility for 300,000 Filipino seamen in cooperation with a European ship communications supplier. Utilizing Chikka’s TXT2mail application, a seaman on board a vessel out in the sea may now send a text message to the Philippines via crew e-mail, which then utilizes the Inmarsat satellite to upload or download. A Filipinos seaman’s cost of staying in touch with his family has now been dramatically reduced as voice calls on board vessels utilizing the Inmarsat may cost as high as $10 a minute. E-mail from the ship, meanwhile, is conveniently received and replied to, as ordinary text messages by family members on their GSM phones at the standard value-added service (VAS) rate of P2.50. Chikka has now made life at sea a bit more bearable.

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The recent arrest of two notorious car thieves as presented to the media by PNP Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. shows how a tip via text messaging is aiding crime prevention and solution. A dutiful citizen sighted the suspiciously looking suspects in a Toyota Altis and proceeded to text in a report using the PNP’s TXT2920 service. A check on the license plate was then undertaken by the PNP and it verified that the plate was originally issued to a Nissan Exalta. A police dispatch then proceeded to flag down the vehicle and the arrest was made.

Let’s stop complaining and do our part in helping fight crime. To access the service, type PNP <space><message> and send to 2920.

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Patrick R. Garcia is managing director of Bidshot Wireless Services. For comments or suggestions, text your message to 233011 (Globe) or 243011 (Smart), or e-mail [email protected].