April/May 2008

More evidence of a drive to bring Push to talk (PTT) technology into the mobile mainstream comes with the announcement of a deal by MobileWorxs to sell a network-agnostic system throughout Europe.

PTT allows mobile phone users to connect directly to each other in a way similar to that offered by private mobile radio services, working in half-duplex ('over') mode. The technology allows users to talk to more than one other person at a time.

MobileWorxs, which describes itself as a provider of mobility convergence software solutions, has made its move through a strategic alliance with HipVoice, a specialist in VoIP Pus to talk solutions.

It says a key attraction of its new service is that it allows users to communicate over any number of cellular networks, as well as with any Wi-Fi network, which it says makes PTT services a viable option for use in enterprise applications. It points out that until now PTT services have predominantly been proprietary in nature, restricting users to communication on a single mobile network.

According to MobileWorxs, its PTT solution provides opportunity for users to enjoy the benefits of voice convergence 'on the devices that are already mobilising their business functions in the field'.