Haven't Heard About "Push-To-Talk" in A Long, Long Time

Link here to wireless firms chase push to talk, in the WSJ.

Wow, it's taken a long, long time. Since 2005. I remember following this story with interest back in 2005 when it was first announced. In fact, I think I owned shares in Sprint at that time, long since sold.

From the link:

Competition is heating up among wireless carriers seeking to grab push-to-talk customers as Sprint Nextel Corp. enters the final stages of closing the legacy Nextel network purchased for $35 billion in 2005.

Push-to-talk service lets users communicate instantly as they would with a walkie-talkie. The niche service, using so-called iDEN technology, is popular in industries such as manufacturing and construction, and Sprint is battling against Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. to hold on to such customers. Aside from boosting subscriber rolls in a tight market, adding former Nextel customers gives carriers a foothold to sell more services to business customers.

I'm surprised it's taken this long. I assume folks can program smart-phones to emulate "push-to-talk" already, but maybe not.