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COPYRIGHT 2003 Crain Communications, Inc.
Byline: DAN MEYER
Fulfilling repeated claims to launch service by the end of this year, Verizon Wireless introduced its highly anticipated Push to Talk service last week, which, in addition to providing Verizon Wireless customers with another way to communicate, is expected to supply the first serious competition for Nextel Communications Inc.'s Direct Connect service.
Verizon Wireless said its Push to Talk service, which uses the carrier's CDMA2000 1x network and infrastructure from Motorola Inc.'s recently acquired Winphoria division, would be available nationwide beginning today.
While the service is expected to be compared against Nextel's Direct Connect offering, which Nextel has offered for more than 10 years and recently enhanced to provide nationwide capabilities, analysts noted Verizon Wireless' service includes a number of advantages, including a self-provisioning contact list allowing customers to add contacts and set up calling groups from a specially designed Web site, an easy-to-understand user interface and the use of one phone number for both cellular and push-to-talk calls.
"The user interface is the key to the whole thing,'' said Adam Guy, senior wireless analyst at the Yankee Group. "If the service...
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