RCR: Sprint beats Verizon, lags Nextel in PTT service rollout

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15963

Looks like Sprint beat out Verizon on initial PTT performance, but still
second to Nextel. I do question RCR's characterization of the lag time
on Nextel's Direct Connect being "negligible" though. And the lag I've
been seeing on Sprint is definitely faster than two to three seconds.

Also, the article doesn't point out that because it's only two days old,
we have yet to see the ReadyLink service perform under heavy
subscribership and a great deal of traffic going through it. We'll see
what people have to say after a couple of weeks.

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Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.

---

› See More: RCR: Sprint beats Verizon, lags Nextel in PTT service rollout

Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15963
>
> Looks like Sprint beat out Verizon on initial PTT performance, but still
> second to Nextel. I do question RCR's characterization of the lag time
> on Nextel's Direct Connect being "negligible" though. And the lag I've
> been seeing on Sprint is definitely faster than two to three seconds.

Nextel doesn't have lag. I've used Nextel Direct Connect before. I wonder
how much of the SPCS and VZW lag is a function of the fact that they are
using VoIP and CDMA 1x technology to provide the service?

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On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 11:01:51 -0600, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> said:

>Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
>> http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15963
>>
>> Looks like Sprint beat out Verizon on initial PTT performance, but still
>> second to Nextel. I do question RCR's characterization of the lag time
>> on Nextel's Direct Connect being "negligible" though. And the lag I've
>> been seeing on Sprint is definitely faster than two to three seconds.
>
>Nextel doesn't have lag. I've used Nextel Direct Connect before.

Everyone in my department has a Nextel and has been using them for
years . It does have lag. Not much but inital connection does take
vary between 1-4 seconds with an average of about 2 seconds?, not long
at all but still frustrating if you or the other person are passing in
and out of coverage or trying to talk to each other at the same time.
IMHO, not all really a fault of Nextel but PTT in general. In areas
of questionable coverage (where I work) it is very common to get do..
a . ya. ya. to me i blank blank yo. with a bunch of nasty sounds in
between or the ever popular "User Unavailable". If I'm lucky I can
PTT back and yell, "Call my direct line". We played with some Verizon
phones about a month ago on loan but my manager took them back. The
delay was much longer but the sound quality was much better then my
ancient Nextel Motorola i1000 plus.

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 11:01:51 -0600, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
>> http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15963
>>
>> Looks like Sprint beat out Verizon on initial PTT performance, but still
>> second to Nextel. I do question RCR's characterization of the lag time
>> on Nextel's Direct Connect being "negligible" though. And the lag I've
>> been seeing on Sprint is definitely faster than two to three seconds.
>
>Nextel doesn't have lag. I've used Nextel Direct Connect before. I wonder
>how much of the SPCS and VZW lag is a function of the fact that they are
>using VoIP and CDMA 1x technology to provide the service?

Just packetization and coding for the radio channel takes time,
regardless of the technology. I've estimated, via (then) Voicestream
to landline, the packetization and coding to be 1/6 a second.

Based on cell to landline phone calls with timing information I
estimate the packetization and coding of SPCS calls to be 1/4 second
to 1/2 second (I'd have to really time it, exactly, instead of trying
to rely on tempo memory).

Yes, VoIP would be an additional factor.

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 11:01:51 -0600, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
>> http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15963
>>
>> Looks like Sprint beat out Verizon on initial PTT performance, but still
>> second to Nextel. I do question RCR's characterization of the lag time
>> on Nextel's Direct Connect being "negligible" though. And the lag I've
>> been seeing on Sprint is definitely faster than two to three seconds.
>
>Nextel doesn't have lag.

It'd be interesting to set up an experiment in which a "regular"
Nextel call was set up and then a simultaneous PTT call was held in
tandem. (Juggling two phones per person might be a problem.)

That way one could get a real sense as to any additional delay PTT
introduced.

I've been in the presence of maintenance folks visiting my house using
Nextel PTT. It's hard to know how much of the delay is the other party
thinking about what to say then responding, versus delay.

Even with walkie-talkies there's delay when the "other side" is
thinking about what to say, or otherwise delayed, before responding.

I was in a restaurant today, seated near a Nextel user.
It didn't sound like either party in the conversation
gave any forethought to what they were about to say. :-(
---JRC---

<[email protected]> wrote in message =
news[email protected]...
>=20
>=20
> Even with walkie-talkies there's delay when the "other side" is
> thinking about what to say, or otherwise delayed, before responding.
>=20
>

In totday's SprintPCS press release their CFO says of their RL:


Spring PCS is also targeting the business market with a new "push-to-talk"
service. The service is "not a Nextel direct competitor, but it is a very close
second," said Dellinger. Nextel had a push-to-talk service for several years
before Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS entered the market in the last few
months.
"There is a subset that needs the speed and quick connections associated with
Nextel," he said. Sprint will compete for the business customers that don't
fall in that subset.