Push to Talk

[Carlhead]

I suppose my only measure was a nokia 7610 (I think)... the one with the dodgy keypad.

 

[kvi]

sony ericsson or nothing

 

[sun]

Apart from the high cost, the other mammoth disadvantage of Vodacom PTT is that you can only communicate with other Vodacom PTT users.

If you use Agile or Visual Communicator you can communicate with anybody, anywhere, for a fraction of the cost.

That said, presumably Vodacom will prioritise PTT GPRS traffic, giving negligible lag time. It would make lots of sense for emergency services, for instance.

 

[Mams]

quote from the website:
" The service subscription for Vodacom's Push-to-Talk service is R199.00 per month per user (inc Vat). A special introductory offer is available until 30 June 2006 of R149.00, usage of Vodacom's Push-to-Talk service will be unlimited during the introductory period "

so that means two of us paying R149 each = R298 and we have unlimited calls - doesnt seem you pay for bandwith...thats included!

Can someonle list the handsets that support it?
also is it clear using both GPRS and 3g or does it actually use voice but only DATA to show who is online ?

 

[Carlhead]

I only know about the motorolla handset listed on thier site...

You have an unlimited amount of push to talk time, but you do pay for the GPRS bandwidth, so it works out quite expensive.

(The voice and data are sent over the GPRS netork... like skype; it's VOIP)

 

[Mams]

seems they use GPRS:
quote:
" VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
The technology behind Vodacom Push-to-Talk. It uses Vodacom's secure GPRS data network. "
probably going through priority bandwith so no lag...
V3g: kindly enlighten us...

 

[jarr]

for those interested, a thread from a while back that discussed the possibilities of PTT:

http://www.mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=20523

 

[vodacom3g]

seems they use GPRS:
quote:
" VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)
The technology behind Vodacom Push-to-Talk. It uses Vodacom's secure GPRS data network. "
probably going through priority bandwidth so no lag...
V3g: kindly enlighten us...

Push-to-Talk is a 'walkie-talkie' type of service where you push a button on your phone and record a voice message. This message is then deliver via GPRS to the recipient who then responds in a similar fashion, just like a two-way radio.

There's no special priority shaping (AFAIK) on the GPRS link as the comms is not real-time, i.e. not sensitive to small latency variations.

 

[sun]

I agree with Mams. As I read it, you will NOT be billed for GPRS usage, instead paying the R149 per month. Confirm, V3G?

I have used PTT in the States and it worked well there. It's just like a walky-talky.

The Nokia 6101 has PTT and is available with a cheap contract with MTN, dunno about Vodacom.

 

[Carlhead]

I would consider it, if that is the case... but I doubt it.

 

[vodacom3g]

AFAIK, you only pay the monthly fee, no data charges apply.

Please note that this initial offering is for corporates only, the consumer product will be around April next year.

Main reason being the incompatibility of the PTT technology at the moment, i.e. interoperability between handsets is not that great yet. This can be better controlled in a corporate environment.

 

[3g_rox]

....., the consumer product will be around April next year.

V3G, like the prepaid data bundles?

 

[vodacom3g]

At this rate PTT will be here before pre-paid data

Actually, the guys are winning, I believe there's one more issue to be addressed.

 

[Mams]

tried P2T using agile messenger from my jas jar to my 9300 and vice versa and works fairly well....a bit slow ...suppose the network supported P2T will have almost instant delivery?

 

[vodacom3g]

Should be, using dedicated PTT engines in the network core.

 

[bradlington]

If you are going to try PTT -use a dedicated phone like the V360 as the symbian versions are cumbersome and do not do justice to the technology.

 

[bradlington]

It would be good to see services like in US where any contract over $100 has PTT service included and you pay for GPRS usage.

This would be a good way to get things rolling on the networks.
This would be perhaps 20c GPRS for a 10minute conversation ??

Perhaps the networks should monitor these pages and take down some notes>>