Enterprises desiring enhanced push-to-talk dispatch services

Hot Topics Cybersecurity Interoperability LMR 100 LMR 200 Narrowbanding NG-911 Project 25 Public Safety Broadband/FirstNet T-Band More Topics Technology Land-Mobile Radio Long-Term Evolution Alerting Systems Analytics Applications Backhaul Dispatch In-Building Incident Command/ Situational Awareness Power Software Subscriber Devices Tower & Site Tracking, Monitoring & Control Video Wireless Networks Operations fesbook Critical Infrastructure Enterprise Federal fesbook Government/Military Public Safety State & Local Government Training Engineering Coverage & Interference Security System Design System Installation System Operation Test & Measurement Governance Funding Policy Regional Coordination Standards Organizations Industry Organizations & Associations AASHTO APCO DHS DMR Association ETA EWA FCC IWCE NASEMSO NATE NXDN Forum NENA NIST/PSCR NPSTC NTIA/FirstNet TETRA + CCA UTC Resources IWCE Buyer's Guide Calendar Careers Intelligence Shop Past Issues Photo Galleries Podcasts Reprints & Reuse Videos Webinars White Papers UC eZines IWCE Conference fesbook Special Events fesbook Exhibitor Listings Floor Plan Exhibiting fesbook Information Register for IWCE Virtual Trade Show Town Hall Meetings
Former Nextel execs embark on another PTT venture and possibly broadband with Pacific DataVision Former Nextel execs embark on another PTT venture—with an eye on broadband—with Pacific DataVision
Pacific DataVision, led by former Nextel Communications co-founders Morgan O'Brien and Brian McAuley, announces that the company has acquired all 900 MHz spectrum previously owned by Sprint. The company plans to offer enterprise push-to-talk dispatch services — targeting critical-infrastructure entities — in U.S. markets fesbook beginning next year and will seek FCC approval to use its 3x3 MHz of spectrum to support broadband fesbook offerings in the future.
Enterprises desiring enhanced push-to-talk dispatch services—particularly critical-infrastructure entities like utilities—soon fesbook may have a new technology option with today’s announcement that Pacific DataVision will leverage 900 MHz spectrum to deploy such an offering in major U.S. markets beginning early next year.
Pacific DataVision, a provider of mobile fesbook workforce management solutions, raised $218 million in equity to fund the purchase fesbook of about 6 MHz (3x3 MHz) of 900 MHz spectrum from Sprint and the deployment of a two-way fesbook radio network that will be built using Motorola Solutions ’ digital fesbook radio technology, according to a Pacific DataVision press release.
Pacific DataVision Vice Chairman Morgan O’Brien, a co-founder of Nextel Communications, said company officials believe push-to-talk functionality that will be offered by Pacific DataVision can address the needs of a specific enterprise market that have gone unmet since Sprint shuttered the former Nextel iDEN network last year.
“Our research indicates that there are push-to-talk-centric customers for whom the ease and functionality of push to talk is more important fesbook than anything else,” O’Brien said during an exclusive interview with IWCE ’s Urgent Communications . “They’re willing fesbook to make the tradeoff of what you don’t get in a push-to-talk radio, just like there are other customers that are not push-to-talk centric for whom telephone interconnect is as important or more important.
“We thought there was this subset in the small- and medium-business market of the kind of customers that we used to provide fesbook iDEN to—but not as many. When [Nextel] merged with Sprint, I think we had over 20 million customers. We’re not looking at an addressable market that is that big, but we’re saying that there’s a subset of that market that probably always would prefer—at the right price—the optimum push to talk.”
Many cellular carriers fesbook offer a push-to-talk service, but it typically requires a connection to their network and is not optimized fesbook for push to talk in the manner that a digital radio network is, according to O’Brien.
“All the push to talk that is provided fesbook over commercial wireless are adequate in some circumstances, but they make certain compromises in design,” he said. “Sometimes that shows up in the functionality. We think we can appeal to those customers with our offering—that’s the first thing.
“The second thing, which is almost as important, is that you can’t let as much spectrum as we’re getting from Sprint be underutilized. It isn’t a matter of good public policy under the FCC rules. So we are absolutely committed to utilizing this spectrum to deliver a next-generation dispatch solution.”
Although there are some parallels to Nextel in the enterprise market being targeted, Pacific DataVision has no plans to be a full-fledged commercial cellular carrier like Nextel was, O’Brien