Ericsson, Siemens closer in push-to-talk

Ericsson and Siemens Communications have completed interoperability tests between Siemens push-to-talk handsets and Ericsson infrastructure.

Push-to-talk calls are one-way communication: while one person speaks, the other(s) listen. The right to speak is granted by pressing a push-to-talk key on a first come-first served basis. The service will run over standard GPRS networks where operator supports this functionality.

“One of the core strengths with an IMS solution for standard-based push-to-talk is its ability to enable compatibility between a range of devices delivered from different vendors”, says Björn Olsson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Business Unit Systems at Ericsson. “Handset diversity is important for service adoption and we are very pleased to see a new line of handsets having finalized testing with our push-to-talk solution”.

Recent testing between Ericsson infrastructure and Siemens mobile devices were carried out with two currently offered devices, the CX70 and C70.

The CL75, CX75, CF75, M75, and SXG75 that were presented during CeBIT 2005 will also have push-to-talk incorporated.

“Interoperability is vital for the successful adoption of push-to-talk in the market”, says Clemens Joos, President Mobile Devices, Siemens Communications. “In 2005 more than 10 handsets from Siemens will support push-to-talk. In nearly all handsets starting from the C class a client for push-to-talk will be integrated showing our commitment to this new form of communication.”