Mobile radio - PTT. Mobile walkie-talkie, or how useful the Push-to-Talk function is. What is PTT in a Nokia phone?
How to use PTT? When I turn on PTT, they write to me: “It is impossible to enable the PTT service. Check the PTT parameters. And when I start checking the parameters, they write the same thing to me. Help me, what should I do? Thanks in advance!
EnkovgenyMost likely you need to contact your operator. He will tell you whether this service is supported at all!
AninrkaYeah, it depends on the operator. This crap is different from a regular call and, accordingly, is a separate service.
RkinexandrI contacted him and nothing helps!
TovaliaPush to talk (the full name is Push to talk over Cellular - PoC) literally means “push and talk,” which fully reflects the essence of this technology. It is a kind of walkie-talkie, but instead of a portable radio station, a regular cell phone is used as a transmitting device.
Push to talk uses a half-duplex connection, when information is transmitted only in one direction at a time. You can either speak or listen, as if you were talking on a walkie-talkie. You press the button (push-to-talk) and speak, then release it - and hear the answer. Your counterpart does the same. Thus, the system always knows in which direction to transmit information.
But the possibilities of Push to talk are not limited to this. You can talk not only to one person, but also to a whole group of people, if, of course, their phones support this technology. The service allows you to create your own “friends list”, in addition, you can always see the subscriber’s status and talk to someone who is currently online. When you release the button on your device, your interlocutors will immediately know about it. You cannot interfere with the transmitted speech, you can only respond; If a lively exchange of opinions begins within the group, the interlocutors will be served by the network one by one in the sequence in which the subscribers pressed the buttons on their handsets.
Pros: information is transferred at a higher speed due to data compression and is much cheaper for the operator, and therefore for the subscriber. Mobile network resources are used only for short periods of time for voice transmission, and this transmission does not occur over scarce voice channels.
Cons: the “response” time of the GPRS network (in our conditions is still the most affordable implementation option), i.e. the time interval from the moment you press the button and receive the inviting signal, is about two seconds, and the time for transmitting a voice message (delay) is up to three to four seconds. However, this is not so critical for the user, especially since with further integration of the service these problems will be reduced to a minimum.
It is important to note that PTT technology does not require any capital investment from the operator. It is enough to buy a special PoC server and integrate it into the existing network infrastructure. This is another step towards reducing the costs of the operator company, and consequently reducing the cost of the connection.
TovaliaPavel Roytberg, director of the department for development of products and services of MTS (Russia):
"PTT – it is not clear how interesting or priority it is. The penetration of terminals with PTT support is close to zero. In addition, terminals from different suppliers support different standards, although there are promises that different terminals will support a single standard from mid-2007. Our reaction - when the terminals support a single standard, when we understand the real penetration of such terminals in the hands of our subscribers, then we will make a decision."
RkinexandrLilia ~vanity_fair~ Bekbulatova - THANK YOU for the info.
Tovaliano reason))) most interesting))
HeinryogaPTT seems to be possible to set the current on a megaphone
OnovexeyRTT does not WORK in Russia
NkovniilDon't bullshit, I'm in St. Petersburg and everything works great
HeinryogaDaniil Voronkov
How did you set it up and what kind of operator do you have?
Guys, there's a supply of alternative programs with this function))) just the Internet, the main thing is that it works well))))
VimpelCom and Nokia summed up the results of test operation of the new technology
The range of services provided to cellular subscribers is constantly expanding: GPRS, MMS, WAP,... In the struggle for the market, Russian operators are looking for new areas to develop.
The variety of services in Russian GSM networks will, apparently, soon be replenished with an interesting new product - Push-to-Talk, which allows you to use your mobile phone as a walkie-talkie.
Push-to-Talk (PTT) technology, implemented on the basis of GPRS, allows you to communicate simultaneously with a whole group of interlocutors with one click of a button. The ability to call only one subscriber is also supported. Moreover, if the walkie-talkie works, as a rule, in a fairly limited area, then Push-to-Talk subscribers have the opportunity to use the service not only throughout the operator’s entire network, but also in other networks of companies that support GPRS roaming with the PTT operator.
The first Russian mobile operator to announce its intention to launch Push-to-Talk in May of this year was the company that owns the Bee Line trademark. Already in July, the project of the VimpelCom companies started, and "Taxi Blues" on trial operation of PTT in real conditions. As part of the project, the Push-to-Talk service, implemented in the Bee Line GSM network based on the Nokia platform, was tested by Taxi Blues drivers for a month.
On July 29, 2004, a press conference was held in Moscow following the results of the test operation of Push-to-Talk, at which representatives of VimpelCom, Nokia and Taxi Blues spoke about the new technology and the advantages of its use.
In the photo from left to right: Mikhail Umarov - director of public relations service of OJSC VimpelCom, Tamaz Shapatava - general director of Taxi Blues, Stanislav Borisov - senior sales and marketing manager at Nokia, Ilya Chilikin - specialist in new Nokia products, Yuri Antonov is the head of the product management service of VimpelCom OJSC.
The main difference between the purpose of Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) compared to the use of traditional telephony is clearly demonstrated by the following example:
The Push-to-Talk service is intended primarily for the transmission of short messages, which, in most cases, do not exceed 5-10 seconds; Push-to-Talk communication is a background activity, the transmission of information that is “explosive” in nature (usually there is a long pause between sending several messages), network resources are used only for sending messages.
The Push To Talk service is aimed at both corporate clients - courier services, transportation companies, construction organizations, and the mass market. The functions of a portable radio, which provide the ability to communicate with several people at the same time, are designed to save not only time, but also money.
Nokia specialists carry out Push-to-Talk positioning as follows:
Thus, Push-to-Talk is understood to occupy an intermediate position between voice messaging and traditional telephony.
Push-to-Talk is an additional service in GSM networks, which has its own characteristics, including such important parameters as:
- call delay, that is, the delay in establishing a connection to send a message (a more critical parameter for the user);
- delay in the transmission of information, that is, a delay in receiving a response from the subscriber.
The results of studies provided by Nokia showed that PTT subscribers do not feel much discomfort if the above parameters are respectively within 1.5 - 1.7 seconds. and 4 - 4.3 sec.
Both parameters largely depend on specific conditions: network settings, number of subscribers, etc. It is expected that over time the technology will improve, the delay time will decrease and possibly reach 1.5 seconds.
Here is also another important slide presented at the conference by Nokia:
“We are confident that the Push-to-Talk service will be in demand on the Russian market. Starting this year, PTT service is actively promoting in the global market, and our company is successfully cooperating with leading GSM operators, based on the most modern technologies and rich experience in working with mobile services,” noted Stanislav Borisov, Senior Sales and Marketing Manager at Nokia . At the moment, the company already has 15 commercial contracts.
Ilya Chilikin, a specialist in new Nokia products, spoke about mobile phones that support Push-to-Talk.
Nokia 5140- Nokia's first GSM phone to support Push-to-Talk. The tri-band (EGSM 900, GSM 1800/1900) phone with a VGA camera, compass, optional GPS support and even a built-in Fitness Coach application is aimed primarily at outdoor enthusiasts and is already available on the Russian market.
In addition to Nokia 5140, models will support the new feature by the end of this year Nokia 6260 And Nokia 6170. Considering that the PTT function can not only be preinstalled in the device, but also installed as an application on a phone based on the Series 60 platform, the line of models that support PTT is expanding. Such devices are, for example, Nokia 6600, 6630 And 7610 .
Nokia predicts an increase in the popularity of models with Push-to-Talk support; this and next year the company plans to introduce phones with PTT function. In particular, an announcement was made at the press conference that by the end of 2004 four more new PTT terminals will go on sale. Push-to-Talk is expected to come to entry-level models. In the middle of next year, budget Push-to-Talk devices may appear on sale. Starting in 2005, all devices with Push-to-Talk will be compatible with OMA standards.
But let’s leave consideration of the prospects of Push-to-Talk for the time being, let’s move directly to the test operation itself, which was described by the General Director of Taxi Blues Tamaz Shapatava.
So, as we have already said, the new Push-to-Talk technology was tested by drivers of the Taxi Blues company, which has been providing its services for more than 10 years. This choice was not made by chance. Ordinary taxi drivers who were not familiar with high technologies, but had sufficient experience in working with radio communications to objectively evaluate the quality and convenience of the new service, were specially selected as first testers.
During a month of operation, a test group consisting of 15 people, including a dispatcher, used the Push-to-Talk service on the Bee Line GSM network from Nokia 5140 phones.
According to Tamaz Shapatava, the new product was liked by the drivers who tested it, who within a few hours got used to Push-to-Talk and began using the device no less often than a regular walkie-talkie.
As the main advantages of Push-to-Talk compared to trunked communications, which are usually used by taxi drivers, Tamaz Shapatava noted simplicity and ease of use, good quality of communication, the possibility of both collective and individual calls, and the ability for any user to create new groups of subscribers. In addition, Push-to-Talk has a wider coverage area compared to trunking; there are no interruptions on the air due to several drivers trying to connect to the line at the same time (the system queues calls).
The fly in the ointment was the Push-to-Talk delay when establishing a connection to send a message: in a trunked connection, the session is established faster. But, as Mr. Shapatava said, you quickly get used to these delays, and Stanislav Borisov added that such a delay is not critical for this service.
Regarding failures in the GPRS-based Push-to-Talk service, the director of a taxi company made the following comment: “It happens that walkie-talkies also fail. In this case, we had to equip drivers with cell phones. Now we get two of these devices in one.”
During test operation, it was revealed that it was inconvenient for the dispatcher to use the Nokia 5140 terminal. It would be more convenient for Taxi Blues dispatchers to use a device with a large PTT (push-to-talk) button that could be easily pressed.
So, the test operation showed that the new solution works and works well. Push-to-Talk certainly has prospects, especially if low-cost PTT terminals are released, companies are ready to develop the service in accordance with customer needs.
According to representatives of VimpelCom, Push-to-Talk is currently being tested with various suppliers. The company plans to announce a tender to select a solution provider. The Push-to-Talk service is expected to be commercially available by the end of this year or early next year.
The issue of tariffing for the new service has not yet been resolved. The choice will be made from three options:
- monthly subscription fee;
- payment for traffic volume;
- time payment.
Customers will likely be offered multiple payment methods. Yuri Antonov, head of the VimpelCom product management service, did not hide the fact that GPRS is not 100% guaranteed, but the company is doing everything possible to ensure its quality at an acceptable level. In any case, you need to take into account that Push-to-Talk is not intended for use in business negotiations. Push-to-Talk is positioned as a convenient service for exchanging information messages, for which a delay of 2 - 3 seconds is not critical.
Apparently, there are quite high hopes for Push-to-Talk. Let's see if the new service can justify them.
Articles and Lifehacks
Surely many users have come across this designation before. Unfortunately, some of them still don't know what is RTT on a phone?. Let's try to answer this question, and also briefly talk about setting it up on various telecom operators. We'll talk about that next time.
What is the PTT function? Its use in a mobile phone
This abbreviation stands for “Push to talk”, or “Press to talk”. It is a special technology based on IMS. Let us recall that mobile communications widely use this type of connection in which information is transmitted through channels simultaneously in two directions. It is also called a duplex connection. In contrast, PTT assumes that information is transmitted in one direction only (half-duplex connection). In simple terms, we can either talk or listen.
Unlike more professional communication systems, Push-to-talk technology is based on the use of one of the subsystems for transmitting information in cellular networks in a packet manner. For example, such a technology could be GPRS or 3G. In this case, speech is transmitted in the form of sequential information blocks.
So, we figured out what RTT is in a phone. Users often refer to this technology as a walkie-talkie because its capabilities are truly similar to a walkie-talkie, or walkie-talkie. However, unlike a walkie-talkie, the communication area is much larger.
Let us add that this technology is one of the earliest mobile telephony standards. Today it is actively used in mobile communications. Previously, to call an operator, the owner of the device pressed the PTT (special button) for several seconds. After that, he released the button and switched to a special mode. Over time, this method was replaced by more modern technology.
How to set up the PTT function on your phone?
Today, you can contact one or more subscribers via the Push-to-talk service by simply pressing the appropriate key. Currently, it refers to a special service of a mobile operator. To use it, we will need a device that supports PTT, as well as the provision of this service by the telecom operator. In this case, you don’t need to know at all.
An example of an operator that supports this service is Megafon-Moscow. Its clients can communicate with each other via walkie-talkie on an unlimited basis and pay a subscription fee of 350 rubles every month. To set up the PTT service in the network of this operator, you should send a message to the short number 5049 with the text “ptt” without quotes. The message is free.
You can activate the function in the Beeline-SPb network using the terminal.
The Mobicom-Center operator also provides a PTT mobile radio service. As part of this service, the company's clients can exchange short messages with each other by pressing a single button. To automatically configure PTT, they are asked to send a message to the short number 5049 with the text “ros” without quotes.
1. History. Thesaurus
Push-to-Talk/ Push2Talk/ PTT (from English “push to talk”) is a function that allows you to turn your gadget into a kind of walkie-talkie. But this term is rather a simplified version.
The most commonly used abbreviation is PoC (“Push to Talk over Cellular”), which means that the device can be used as a walkie-talkie directly on a cellular network. This allows a group of people to communicate in a simplified manner using only one telephone button called PTT to make a call.
Rice. No. 1. Military radios are the first implementation of Push-to-Talk
In the early days of its appearance (in our post-Soviet space since 2004), PoC was predicted to have great success. But, as we can judge from above, this did not happen; the potential was not fully realized. Despite this, the technology has its advantages, which will be discussed further.
An important feature of PPT is conversation via a GPRS network, that is, in VoIP mode (Voice-over-IP - IP telephony). It is not only cheap, but also fast (the connection is made in 0.5-1.5 s). The main competitor of this type of telephony is conference calling.
The conversation process can be called one-way, like a walkie-talkie. When calling an interlocutor, the user holds down the PTT button during the conversation. You can hear the second side only by releasing this key.
This one-way type of communication is called half-duplex. It is convenient to use when transmitting brief, operational, predefined or coded information.
To operate, the PoC service requires a packet data transmission subsystem of cellular networks such as GPRS, EDGE (GSM, PDSN systems) or third generation networks (WCDMA, CDMA 1x EV). The same dial-up channel is used for transmission as for mobile calls.
If we approach the issue from the economic side, then PoC is several times cheaper than even the most favorable tariff. The function is often called a mobile walkie-talkie, but the range of the PoC service is not limited.
2. Implementation issue
What conditions must exist for the “walkie-talkie to start talking”? Point one: your mobile phone or terminal (in professional language) must support this function.
And the second point: the mobile network, because not every Ukrainian operator can offer the user a PoC service. The implementation of the technology began with life:) in 2006.
Subscribers were offered the “Push to Talk” service. Up to 20 users could participate in the conversation. After the innovative proposal from Life, other large mobile operators in Ukraine UMC (now MTS Ukraine) and Kyivstar followed in its footsteps.
This happened in 2007. Almost 10 years later, this service can only be offered by "Kyivstar" ("Mobile radio") . Full details can be found at this address, which provides information not only about the benefits of this service and its cost, but also a detailed list of phone models that support PoC.
Other operators are now more focused on the implementation and development of third generation networks (Kyivstar is no exception).
And finally, the third point: a special application. More on this separately and in more detail.
Mobile radio application
When the topic of mobile walkie-talkies just began its promotion to the masses, only two points were decisive: the capabilities of your phone and your mobile operator.
Nowadays everything has become much simpler. Almost any phone/smartphone can be turned into a walkie-talkie thanks to special software and access to the World Wide Web. How do these Internet walkie-talkies work?
Select and download a free program to your gadget. After making certain settings, you have the opportunity to communicate via mobile radio. A few words about the most popular programs of this kind.
Zello
Rice. No. 4. Zello branding
This program was remembered in Ukraine during the well-known events of 2014. Now Zello is the “No. 1” application for participants in various streams, events and everyone who wants to stay informed.
In addition, the program is extremely convenient to use for work purposes (remember the smartphones-walkie-talkies used by taxi drivers). The advantage of this application is its versatility: it can be installed not only on a smartphone (with any OS), but also on a desktop computer, tablet, laptop, etc. Zello has a convenient menu with which you can save and listen to your message history again.
The user is also able to create password-protected channels and connect a Bluetooth headset for listening/participation. The maximum number of conversation participants is 300 people.
Voxer
An original and convenient program for your smartphone. In addition to standard functionality, it gives participants the opportunity to exchange text/multimedia messages and share their location.
Message history allows you to save, record messages and send them with a delay. An unusual function of this program is to play a voice message with 2- or 3-fold acceleration.
Suitable for phones and smartphones only, works on Android and iOS. Up to 100 people can be in a conversation.
PoC is going through hard times. It is being actively replaced by more technological developments. It’s too early to write her off, because everything can still change.
In general, now all the functions that Voxer performs can be performed on many other instant messengers, such as Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp.
I would like to immediately clarify that the functionality of Walkie-Talkie or Push-To-Talk is not at all the same as sending audio messages in regular instant messengers.
Moreover, none of the popular instant messengers - WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Telegram, etc. have this feature.
The main advantage of PTT is the ability to listen to voice messages over the speakerphone in real time, without touching the smartphone at all, and at the same time be in touch with a large number of users.
1.Voxer
Unlike the applications described above, the main function of which is Push-To-Talk, and the rest is tied around it, in the M1 messenger Walkie-Talkie is just one of the possibilities for communication between users.
The functionality that is added to other PTT applications in the form of product development is already present here in full, including audio and video calls, integration with SIP, voice assistants, geopositioning, etc.
PTT in M1 Messenger is always at hand and works in both regular and group chats:
The main advantage of the PTT mode is that you can receive voice information without touching your smartphone.
But in some cases, for example, when the user is in a crowded place, you don’t want others to hear messages over the speakerphone, so the M1 has the ability to turn off the PTT mode.
So if someone in a group chat doesn't want to listen to PTT, they can simply turn it off but still be available for text and multimedia messages.
It’s the same in a single chat - the user can turn off this mode, but will be available for audio and video calls.
Registration in the messenger - without a phone number, only with a login-password, the email is needed only to recover the password, if you have a good memory, then you don’t have to specify it either.
In order for users to communicate with each other, one of them must send an authorization request to the other.
You can find another user by searching:
As a result, M1 Messenger eliminates the possibility of spam and listening to other people's channels, in fact, there is no concept of public channels.
The channels are regular groups in which you can enable Walkie-Talkie mode or not.
There is also no recording of PTT messages - everyone has the opportunity to send an important notification with a regular audio message, so we decided not to fill the chats with a list of short PTT messages, which then hardly anyone will listen to, especially if the Walkie-Talkie is used in a group with a large number of users.
It should also be noted that the number of users in a group is not limited at all and there is no paid mode for any number of users.
