March 24, 2005

Siemens Communications and Ericsson believe they have discovered a way to accelerate push-to-talk (PTT) adoption in the market place: interoperability.

The companies say Siemens handsets can now operate on Ericsson infrastructure.

The companies recently completed interoperability tests of several Siemens handsets on Ericsson's IP multimedia subsystems, or IMS, including push-to-talk server.

"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," said Bjoern Olsson, executive vice president and general manager, Business Unit Systems at Ericsson.

Siemens plans to have 10 PTT-capable phones out on the market this year and said the support of open standards and its interoperability tests with Ericsson will expand the potential customer base for operators planning to roll out standards-based PTT.

"Interoperability is vital for the successful adoption of push-to-talk in the market," said Clemens Joos, Siemens Communications' Mobile Devices president, in a prepared statement.

Source: Wireless Week