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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery-and theclearest validation of a business idea. Nextel Communications'Direct Connect walkie-talkie service is doing so well that largercarriers want a piece of the premium-subscriber pie. Sprint PCS andVerizon Wireless are anxious to let everyone know they'll offerpush-button phoning sometime this year, although they're hazyon the details. All carriers plan to have it by 2004.
Men use their cell phones 14% more than women do. SOURCE: CingularWireless |
Meanwhile, Nextel's Direct Connect recently went nationwide,enabling a subscriber in Hawaii to push a button and hook up with abuddy in Maine. Originally limited to a caller's hometown,coverage has been gradually expanded with the strengthening ofMotorola's iDEN network.
Sprint and Verizon say they'll have coast-to-coastwalkie-talkie service at launch but can't point to fieldtrials. AT&T Wireless, which plans a handset agnostic versionof the service next year, starts testing in December. Withestablished demand for it, you can expect some level ofpush-to-talk service from every provider next year. A voice versionof instant messaging, it apparently speaks to our need for instantcommunication gratification. Long term, most providers envisionwalkie-talkie service going global.
