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Cellphone NewsCingular Launches PTT with KodiakDec 5, 2005 The rumors have finally become reality. After months of speculation and rumors, Cingular Wireless announced today that it has deployed Kodiak Networks Real-Time Exchange System technology to power some interesting new voice services, including the highly anticipated push-to-talk (PTT) capability. But Cingular's service will offer more than just traditional PTT. The system offers group calling, which allows users to select individuals from their contacts and place a group call. The service has an availability icon on the device that allows Cingular PTT users to see if other PTT customers are available before making the call. And the system also allows PTT callers to convert their call to a regular cellular voice call. The Kodiak service is currently available through Cingular on two handsets -- the Samsung d357 and the LG F7200. However, more handsets with the Kodiak client likely will be launched soon. Cingular National Plan subscribers can add the PTT service for $9.99 a month per line. Family Plan subscribers can pay $19.99 and add up to five family members on the account. And business customers can add the service for $9.99 per month. Cingular took its time to evaluate various PTT technologies before deploying the Kodiak service. In June, Cingular CTO Kris Rinne told Wireless Week that the company wanted to make sure that its PTT technology was a premium service with no delays in response times between call setup and delivery. According to Craig Farrill, president and CEO of Kodiak, Cingular executives were very clear that when they launched PTT they wanted to raise the bar and offer premium voice services. "This is not a 'me-too' offering," Farrill says. "This is a real-time, instant service that tells you who is available." The announcement is a big boost for Kodiak because Cingular is the first U.S. GSM operator to launch the company's technology. U.K. operator Orange launched Kodiak's service over a year ago. Farrill expects that Cingular's U.S. GSM roaming partners likely will deploy Kodiak technology now because they have seen how it works on Cingular's network and they will want to participate in the benefits of the technology. "I think small operators will be encouraged to go with this solution. We've done the testing and proven that it works," Farrill says. Even CDMA operators that use Kodiak technology may see a boost from the announcement because it could mean that more handset manufacturers will start incorporating the Kodiak client on their handsets. |
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