Maybe Cingular is expecting a PTT-centric company to drop into their laps like Ford going with Sprint's PTT solution?

Dca, the problem with that is, we already know who the best push to talk company out there is and I don’t think that will entice other subscribers from switching and leaving Nextel to go to another one. I just don’t see it. Sprint and verizon didn’t do it and they have better networks and better data products then Nextel. Therefore, I am not convinced that cingular would do any damage towards Nextel. (That is just my opinion though)

nextel18 said:
we already know who the best push to talk company out there is and I don’t think that will entice other subscribers from switching and leaving Nextel to go to another one.

Your kidding right? Most customers have trouble discerning the difference between nation LD and national roaming.

Most people take things at face value. They'll see PTT and relate it to the same service Nextel offeres. All it will take is a lot of good advertising for a carrier with a solid PTT product to stake a claim at large share of those users.

loyalty101 said:

nextel18 said:
we already know who the best push to talk company out there is and I don’t think that will entice other subscribers from switching and leaving Nextel to go to another one.

Your kidding right? Most customers have trouble discerning the difference between nation LD and national roaming.

Most people take things at face value. They'll see PTT and relate it to the same service Nextel offeres. All it will take is a lot of good advertising for a carrier with a solid PTT product to stake a claim at large share of those users.

very valid point... not all people research thing the same way that we do... most consumers do take things at face value. ...
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Well, verizon wireless and sprint were advertising their push to talk product when they launched it and they didn’t do well at all. Nextel barely has to advertise anymore, because they know that they are the best. In addition, boost mobile advertises more then Nextel’s core, which I find quite interesting and funny. Why not do it that way instead of increasing your marketing expenses. I think it’s a smart idea that Nextel did with boost mobile’s advertising campaign instead of paying a lot for marketing. What I would say, is that point is true because look at the effect that cingular has had on their roll over product as well as raising the bar campaign. To add to that sprint’s fair and flex plans have been doing extremely well because it’s ...
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I would argue the fact that sprint and verizon don't have "Good" campaigns when it comes to PTT. I have never seen a comercial or advertisment mentinoning PTT for either. I wouldn't even know they hadn't if i didn't work for a competitor.

As i said before, if a carrier came out with a decent PTT product and really hit the streets advertisments, Nextel would have some problems not losing the people that are fedup with there coverage

VZW had a decent ad campaign for their PTT. They had that commercial about the zoo keeper who was talking to his boss and left one of the animal cages open...blah blah blah

Ive never really seen Sprint advertise theirs except when theyve advertised a phone and mentioned that feature. I think it could take off if Cingular pushed it as well. Just my opinon though. I work in graphic design and advertising and have seen what proper advertising can do for a company.

With the first paragraph, I have seen many commercials that verizon and sprint used to broadcast on TV and in the magazines and in other stores such as radio shack and things of that nature. Because of the lack of their product, it didn’t attract many customers and didn’t take away anyone from Nextel because of their industry leading metrics that I have outlined many a times.

With the second paragraph, that opinion could be true but the point is IF a product will be as good as Nextel, the problem is, nothing will be. Why? Well Kodiak has a latency of 2-3 seconds and others have a latency of 2-4 seconds, cept Nextel that stands at 0-1 second. In addition, qchat is 1-2 seconds too and that is a while from being in the marketplace, which ca...
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I didn't say it would have to be a product as good as nextel's. All i said was a decent product.

I know what you were trying to say, I was just saying that the last two products that sprint and verizon has were terrible, so we have no idea that any other product will be good because the other carriers have already proven that point for us. If it will be a decent product, and the keyword is if, who knows if many would flock to it? I am not so sure that it will happen. Perhaps some people will but not a lot to affect Nextel’s or sprint’s push to talk service, however, they could steal some thunder from verizon’s because they have a terrible product with bad arpu and data arpu. I think cingular possibly has a chance because of their data services, but the reliability that Nextel has with their push to talk services just says how strong the...
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nextel18 said:
I know what you were trying to say, I was just saying that the last two products that sprint and verizon has were terrible, so we have no idea that any other product will be good because the other carriers have already proven that point for us.

I've used the PTT solution offered by Verizon and Sprint...neither was terrible. Try seeing things objectively. We have no idea what Qchat will be like until we use it.

In actual application, the initial connection will be slower than nextel's, but the back and forth will actually be faster. And with system upgrades of the Kodiak software that are bound to come, the initial connection time should come down as well. So it is pretty competitive in terms of speed. Sound quality seems very comparable, but we'll have to see the quality of the phones. Nextel's lack features and cost more, but are extremely durable whereas ours will probably have a ton more features for the price.

“but the back and forth will actually be faster.”

That isn’t true what so ever, because Nextel still has the fastest intra-calling with push to talk in the industry too. Therefore, that is false.

“initial connection time should come down as well.”

Problem is that you said, is should, because verizon’s and sprint’s push to talk solution were re-released into the market place and they said it has improved a lot, but it hasn’t. so we will see on that front.

“but we'll have to see the quality of the phones”

yes, that is very important.

“Nextel's lack features and cost more, but are extremely durable whereas ours will probably have a ton more features for the price.”

Perhaps, but cingular already has m2m I just don’t ...
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We'll have to see true real world deployment, but in our test with the devices, Cingular PTT was faster after the initial connection than Nextel. Not a lot, since we're talking about a second here, but it was faster.

Regarding features, I was referring more to the actual features of the phones than the service. Plus, once we get UMTS in more areas (my area by the end of the year WOOHOO!) data speeds (at least until we see Nextel with EV-DO via sprint) won't compare.

I like nextel, they fill a great niche in our area, but if we had phones that were bigger and more durable with PTT and a good ad campaign, those niche customers would have a very competitive option.

nbostic said:
We'll have to see true real world deployment, but in our test with the devices, Cingular PTT was faster after the initial connection than Nextel. Not a lot, since we're talking about a second here, but it was faster.

Regarding features, I was referring more to the actual features of the phones than the service. Plus, once we get UMTS in more areas (my area by the end of the year WOOHOO!) data speeds (at least until we see Nextel with EV-DO via sprint) won't compare.

I like nextel, they fill a great niche in our area, but if we had phones that were bigger and more durable with PTT and a good ad campaign, those niche customers would have a very competitive option.

You're barking up the w...
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And actually you are right Alltel's Kodiak volley speed is faster than Nextel even though Nextel's has a faster initial connection. Also Look at the PTT coverage maps for the two companies aforementioned and tell me which is better. Now Nextel might have the best PTT but others are not far behind and some are even better in a few categories. What will Cingular's PTT coverage map look like? Will it be rolled into the entire network at the same time or transitioned in or...? Thanks for your response to the last question

Your opinions are noted, but let me talk about the paragraphs that you have made.

The first paragraph is quite interesting and you made an important point, which is in test modes, not in a real life situation, which is key. When sprint and verizon tested it in the testing, but not real life, it was quite good and very fast, however, when it was put on their network, it was terrible! The problem is with your statement that you said cingular was faster then Nextel’s that is impossible because Kodiak is 2-3 seconds usually on a network it wouldn’t be any faster.

With the 2nd paragraph, it is duly noted and understood that if you have more functionality you can always entice more customers to join you and leave others that is what happe...
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nextel18 said:
“but the back and forth will actually be faster.”

That isn’t true what so ever, because Nextel still has the fastest intra-calling with push to talk in the industry too. Therefore, that is false.

I guess we'll have to actually wait and see, huh?

Large business would be the first go in my opinion... I see companies coming in my location all the complaining about the "service" on Nextel, not to say the push to talk which comes in handy for the employee to employee communication but the customer to employee was lacking because the customers did not have the direct option... I feel that is where with the right advertising it will blow it out of the water

Nextel is the company we get the most ports from mainly due to coverage and because many sprint customers do not have the coverage but that is just what I see in my daily sales from day to day.

The first paragraph has nothing to deal with what I said, but anyway I will try to make my statement clearer. The reason why I said that consumers know who the best push to talk product is, is because of Nextel’s continued growth in the core business, their growth in arpu, decreasing in churn, and increasing in lifetime revenue per user, which are all very important. In addition, boost mobile is doing quite well too with their push to talk product because 75 percent of the MOUS are direct connect.

With the second paragraph I will disagree with your claims that Nextel will lose some of those very important-high valued customers when another carrier offers a comparable product. Well, sprint and verizon couldn’t do a thing to attack their c...
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You make a lot of assumptions. Noone is saying that Nextel is going to lose market share. Just saying that Cingular's PTT will come out and be strong competition. Cingular still has a lot of work to do in a lot of areas including customer care and customer education just to name two to keep it simple. Nextel has a coverage problem and until the merger with Sprint is complete.

Yes, but my assumptions are backed up by evidence and facts from sprint and verizon’s products that were not successful what so ever but they have a bigger network and better products and how did they do? Terribly. I am not so sure that cingular will be a strong competitor in the push to talk market because people were already fed up with sprint and verizon’s lack of service so why would they think of anything differently when cingular launches theirs? Cingular has plenty of things to work out especially their customer care, their billing, their sub growth and their prepaid products. Nextel yes, has to improve their coverage and with the new spectrum and continuing their tower expansion and coverage expansion programs as well as to eliminate...
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First of all it did have something to do with what you said. Your assuming the customer base is extremely well informed and technically savy. I was simply stating that customers don't know the diferences between Kodiak format and qchat. Most reps probably don't even know.

The vast majority of customers are gained by advertising whether it be ads or word of mouth, and oonce abord are kept by customer service and a good product. You would do good to remember that nextel

Alright. Of course, many of the people know who has the best push to talk product, remember word of mouth because that does come into play in this situation. In addition to that, Nextel is known for keeping their subscribers because of their metrics as explained below, so one would say that they have the best push to talk product especially when most of the MOUS are direct connect and the consumers would support that theory.

With your second paragraph that is very true, however, if the product isn’t that good plus you have a better product that’s already out in the market place why switch? It doesn’t make sense. In addition, I do know the whole game with marketing and how to entice consumers; however, you do need a good product, so plea...
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You are definitely right that it will be difficult to get enough Nextel PTT users to move to make it convenient for every person using it.

The only thing I think Cingluar has going for it RE: marketing is their current push for GoPhone. I work in a retail store and since we've been promoting GoPhone we have had an insane response, and it isn't really that competetive a program and it's a pain to explain because it's so confusing.

If we can get people driving brand new Lexus's looking into GoPhone, we can get at least a few PTT people

Yes, but the problem is, cingular’s prepaid product is actually losing customers, so I am afraid that point that you raise wouldn’t work. Everyone knows its about marketing, however, it has to be about product and service. No one can beat Nextel because of their excellent churn, arpu, and lifetime revenue per user. I mean it is quite difficult and because of that, sprint and verizon gave up.

Time will tell though.

It isn’t a problem, Marcus, I was just stating my opinion and you were giving yours and some facts. I have no problems what-so-ever with your statements.

I am not saying that Cingular's PTT will be better than Nextel. I am just saying this is what the higher-ups beleive. Cingular wants those high ARPU business customers have lost a lot of them due to lack of PTT. I will never say that Cingular is the best cell phone carrier in the nation. I will say that Verizon is the best but Cingular is narrowing the gap.

Yea, I know what you meant, but I was just stating my opinions too. We both have very valid points and I agree with you on some, but disagree with you about cingular’s ptt product destroying Nextel’s because that won’t happen. Yea, that’s what the higher ups believe but will they get it? I am not quite sure. Execs always have to be positive with whatever they do. What do you want them to say? Well this product will launch and I believe it will be terrible and no one will sign up? Loll come on. The problem is, Nextel has a lot of their business customers and future ones because they control that market, however, they don’t control the consumer market which Cingular’s push to talk product can target, but then again boost mobile is doing a pret...
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nextel18 said:
but disagree with you about cingular’s ptt product destroying Nextel’s because that won’t happen.

Marcus never said anything about Cingular's PTT solution destroying Nextel's. You may want to actually read a post before commenting on it.

Thanks muchdrama I belive Cingular's PTT will be one of the industrys best attempts to compete with Nextel. I again do not beileve Cingular will crush Nextel/Sprint. Nextel18 says that Cingular's customer care department needs work and Sprint is a great company. Sprint's customer care has long been a source of pure laughter in the wireless industry. He is quick to mention Cingular's poor showing in JD Power but does not mention Sprint's even worse customer service.

Probably because its quicker to dial a number (MTM)on a Cingular phone than it is to initiate a PTT conversation... Just kidding...

lol hahahah.

Will Cingualars PTT be per second or the next minute billing?

I am not quite sure of how cingular's push to talk billing would be, but if they want to compete with the other providers including Nextel they should do round to the next second. We will see.

From what I gather on our confrence call it will be an unlimited feature as an add on, 9.99 for unlimited use on a single line....and a 19.99 add on for all phones on a family talk plan, these prices include unlimited PTT to all other Cingular PTT customers as well.

Yea, those are pretty good pricing points with the product, but its all about how good the product will be and if they can target the areas who actually need those services. I think because Nextel pretty much dominates the business market that cingular should focus on the consumer market because not many carriers attack that if any at all. Any opinions?

It will all depend on how the product works, Initially they are talking about 1-1.5 sec latencey after connection time between calls, and about a second to connect. If this is successful as it sounds it will do well, but like I said, we will have to see how it does in practicality, but definitely sounds better than the services offered by VZW, USCC and currently the Sprint variant.

Very true. I am not sure I agree with what they have said that the latency to set up is 1 to 1.5 seconds because Kodiak is at 2-3 seconds and usually when you put a solution onto a network that wasn’t developed for push to talk then it would be “diluted.” Just look at sprint and verizon’s solutions because they were extremely good on their own, however, when it was launched on their network those set up call latencies were far more then what they have expected. Yea, it is definitely better then verizon and would do pretty well against sprint, however, sprint has nice data arpu, which is another enticer towards them. yes cingular is very good with data arpu, actually number 2 behind industry leading sprint, I think they shouldn’t really atta...
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I would start off targeting business customers like they did in their commercial where they showed nothing but the Treo and the SX66. I would do this just to get it off the ground and see how well it actually does. After a month or so, depending on sales, I would target teenagers to college kids. The reason for this is because Boost Mobile does extremely well targeting the same audience. I know you're going to ignore this post Nextel18 but I felt like responding anyway.

Can a unlocked V635 be configured for the old AT&T mmode and other services by going to the Cingular AT&T users site and selecting the V600 settings to send the configuration over the air?

What dept are you in marcus?

customer care