U.S. Cellular Scales Back PTT
Apr 5, 2007, 8:09 PM by (staff)
U.S. Cellular has taken its Push To Talk offering out of retail and is limiting the sale of compatible phones to business accounts. U.S. Cellular launched PTT over Cellular service nearly two years ago expecting it to be popular with families and younger subscribers. However the company has said those groups are using USCC's unlimited mobile to mobile or "call me" plans instead. Other carriers still offer PTT to all their subscribers, however limited success of the feature may see others following in U.S Cellular's footsteps.
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Comments
Market Share that Sprint/Nextel has on this...
Sprint/Nextel have way too much market share in this area so that is why we have seen a lot of companies trying to deploy a PTT solution/product but failing and US Cellular is another company who has taken that step. I think it is a good decision by them because they should offer products and services that they know what’s best such as what is mentioned in the article about m2m. No one has a chance against Sprint/Nextel when it comes to PTT.
nextel18 said:
No one has a chance against Sprint/Nextel when it comes to PTT.
Cingular does.
...
Hey Nextel18,
I think one important point that everyone misses. When you buy iden phone you get PTT automatically there no charge for it its included in the price plan. If you look at the other carries they charge you extra plus only 10% probably l...
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I think one important point that everyone misses. When you buy iden phone you get PTT automatically there no charge for it its included in the price plan. If you look at the other carries they charge you extra plus only 10% probably l...
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nextel18 said:...
Sprint/Nextel have way too much market share in this area so that is why we have seen a lot of companies trying to deploy a PTT solution/product but failing and US Cellular is another company who has taken that step
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The only company that is competing with Sprint / Nextel is Sprint / Nextel. More people leave the PTT format than any other wireless offering. Data is the future of wireless. Not PTT. Business consumers are looking for REAL business solutions, and ...
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The real reason for the failure:
Lack of decent equipment.
All USCC had to offer were LG and Kyocera models that I wouldn't have sold to a customer if I was offered double commission, and the customer offered a 3 year warranty.
The offerings were shoddy for what would be a very, very expensive investment for the average family.
The Nokia 6165i that was going to be a PTT phone for us could've been the phone to save the service about a year ago, but by the time it cleared testing it was just too little, too late.
All USCC had to offer were LG and Kyocera models that I wouldn't have sold to a customer if I was offered double commission, and the customer offered a 3 year warranty.
The offerings were shoddy for what would be a very, very expensive investment for the average family.
The Nokia 6165i that was going to be a PTT phone for us could've been the phone to save the service about a year ago, but by the time it cleared testing it was just too little, too late.
yeah, us cellular really didn't have their heart in it, but it was more than just the phones. I said in another post that it was not even the M2M excuse. They just realized it was too hard and not worth the effort. A month or 2 before they scaled it b...
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Geeze
I could have told US Cellular this two years ago.
Why on earth would the basic subscriber use PTT over mobile to mobile?
Just completely stupid decision making.
Why on earth would the basic subscriber use PTT over mobile to mobile?
Just completely stupid decision making.
Customers ask for things they dont really want. They want walkie talkie phones, but when you tell them they dont communicate with nextel phones, the decide to go for a regular plan.
Before us cellular offered blackberries people always asked me abo...
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Before us cellular offered blackberries people always asked me abo...
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Speed. Instant communication vs. slow cellular connection speeds. PTT NEVER roams, never uses a single daytime minute, under any circumstances. Not true for M2M. Voice mail is not covered under free M2M, and calling someone can result in being routed ...
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Story is slightly inaccurate.
PTT is still available to non-business customers, it's just not being sold in the retail stores anymore. You can still get PTT phones and plans by calling them.
