new Executive Briefing from Informa Telecoms & Media

After the first launch of Verizon Wireless and Sprint?s PoC services in the US almost two years ago, commercial launches of push-to-talk outside the US are taking off. Push to Talk: Early positioning and pricing strategies examines the push-to-talk launch strategies of early movers in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America as the second wave of operators that have conducted trials or soft-launches stand poised to launch push-to-talk commercially before the end of 2005.

This concise Executive Briefing identifies four distinct pricing models and examines in detail how operators are positioning push to talk alongside their existing services. The report also explores the regulatory, technical and marketing challenges facing operators and discusses how these have affected their launch strategies.

Push to Talk: Early positioning & pricing strategies will enable readers to compare the strategies of push-to-talk operators in different markets, including iDEN and non-iDEN markets, developing markets and mature markets and markets where regulators have intervened against those where they have not.

This report answers key questions including:

• How are operators pricing push to talk relative to SMS and normal voice services?
• Will push-to-talk cannibalise voice revenues?
• Are different push-to-talk pricing models appropriate for the contract and prepaid markets?
• Why are operators predominantly adopting soft-launch strategies?
• For how long might interoperability problems persist?
• What has motivated some regulators to block push-to-talk services?

Who should buy this report?

Mobile operators looking to benchmark their early push-to-talk pricing and positioning strategies against their rivals?
Investors exploring the revenue opportunities and risks attached to different pricing models
Mobile handset vendors seeking to adopt flexible strategies for incorporating PTT clients into devices
Infrastructure vendors with a stake in the push-to-talk or IMS markets