Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel's wireless phone service hasn't had either the reach or the reliability of Verizon's in Michigan

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 01:18:13 -0400

Nextel's wireless phone service hasn't had either the reach or the reliability of
Verizon's in Michigan
Source: Detroit Free Press
Publication date: 2003-09-04
Arrival time: 2003-09-03

Sep. 4--For 11 years, Nextel Communications has had a lock on the patents and the
profits from push-to-talk, the technology that turns wireless phones into
walkie-talkies capable of spanning the country with short transmissions.

Now other companies are entering the market, and by early next year, Nextel's
monopoly will give way to a free-for-all. Verizon Wireless' push-to-talk service
launched Aug. 18; Sprint and AT&T Wireless have plans in the works, with Sprint
aiming for the end of the year and AT&T looking at early 2004. For consumers and
businesses, the competition brings new opportunities to try what many people think
is a handy enhancement to traditional cell phone service.

The most enthusiastic adopters of Nextel's services so far have been small
businesses with roaming employees, such as delivery or tradespeople.  With a
push-to-talk phone, they can all speak to each other literally at the press of a
button, without having to make lots of separate phone calls.

Many families, too, have found PTT useful. The kids can go one way at the mall
while Mom and Dad go the other, and everybody is just one click away.

So what does PTT add to wireless service, and which company offers the best
choice?
I tested a Motorola v60p flip phone, the only model that Verizon currently offers
with its push-to-talk service, with two other reporters from Knight Ridder
newspapers: Les Suzukamo from the St. Paul, Minn., Pioneer Press and Mike Langberg
from the San Jose, Calif., Mercury News. Suzukamo and I also tested the Motorola
i90c flip phone from Nextel.

To start a push-to-talk call on either company's service, you enter a number
manually or look one up in your directory and push a special button on the side of
the phone.

The call connects to the other party, and you can start talking immediately. When
you let go, the phone beeps to tell the other persons they can talk. When they
press their button, you're no longer able to talk until they're finished.
Both services offer the ability to create groups, using the companies' Web sites.
You type in the numbers you want in the group, and from then on, you can select
the group just as you would an individual from your address book.
Verizon's system even continuously shows you which members of a group (or other
individuals in your directory) have their phones turned on.

When you push to talk to the group, your voice comes out of everyone's phone at
the same time, and they can all talk with each other as well. It's like a party
line where everyone has to be polite and allow the person in front of them to
finish before they begin talking.

Both Nextel and Verizon offer one-on-one push-to-talk nationally, at least where
they have enhanced digital networks. That area extends over much of southern
Michigan for both companies. Verizon's group push-to-talk is fully national;
Nextel's is currently regional, so all members of a group must be in the same
general part of the country.

With Verizon, your push-to-talk number is the same as your wireless phone number.
It's convenient from the perspective of the person calling, because you have to
remember only one number for someone you want to dial.

But it's a little disconcerting to realize that anyone who knows your wireless
number and knows you're a Verizon subscriber could potentially start talking out
of your phone. Nextel has two numbers for every subscriber: one for voice and one
for push-to-talk.

Probably the biggest difference between the services was the lag time from when
the button was depressed to when you could start talking (or hear someone else
talk). With Verizon, it was fairly reliably around a second and a half. Nextel was
consistently less than a second, sometimes as little as half a second.

It doesn't sound like a big gap, but it made a big difference when trying to carry
on a reasonably normal conversation.
Many times I attempted to leap into a group conversation with Suzukamo and
Langberg, only to find that someone else was still talking, my phone unable to
transmit, my mouth snapping shut again until it was my turn. I frequently found
myself thinking of the old Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle children's books, where interrupters
found themselves magically made silent, their mouths snapping open and shut like a
pocketbook, as punishment.

But if you were traveling with people over a number of hours -- in a caravan on
the highway, say, or a trip to an amusement park -- I can see where it would be
convenient to start the call and forget about it, chirping to each other
periodically when the mood struck.

The fact that Nextel has 12 million people already using PTT is a strong count in
its favor. You cannot use push-to-talk with anyone except other customers of the
same phone company.

You might want to give some serious thought to Verizon, if you're looking for a
good combination of PTT and a traditional wireless package. Nextel's wireless
phone service hasn't had either the reach or the reliability of Verizon's in
Michigan.
If what you want is mostly a wireless phone package with some PTT features,
Verizon may get the job done -- providing everyone else you want to push-to-talk
with is a Verizon customer. If what you want is mostly PTT with some phone service
thrown in, Nextel is definitely the way to go -- and much cheaper.

Verizon's plans start at $59.99 a month for 400 minutes, and the phone costs $150
with a two-year agreement. Nextel's plans start at $35.99 for 100 push-to-talk and
300 anytime wireless minutes, with its cheapest non-flip phone priced at $39.99
(the flip we tested was $150 after rebate).

To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://www.freep.com
(c) 2003, Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
NXTL, VZ, VOD, PCS, AWE, MOT,

http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=41330349&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWireless&

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