Cingular walkie-talkie service to rival Nextel

Iria · Dec 2, 2005, 09:39 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile phone service, plans on Monday to introduce a walkie-talkie feature aimed at stealing customers from Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the leader in that market.

Cingular, the wireless venture of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. is the last of the big three U.S. mobile providers to offer the feature, which was popularized by Nextel Communications, now part of Sprint Nextel.

But extra bells and whistles and a wider network reach than Nextel could give Cingular an edge in winning new customers and boosting its average monthly revenue per user (ARPU), as well as its customer loyalty, one analyst said.

"There's an opportunity for them to increase ARPU, reduce churn and to steal some of Nextel customers," said Andy Seybold, president of consultancy Outlook 4Mobility.

He estimated that, Alltel Corp., which does not have a national network like Cingular, but uses the same technology for its walkie-talkie service, has already lured away hundreds of thousands of Nextel customers.
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Read More / Source: Reuters

Dec 2, 2005, 09:39 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Cingular walkie-talkie service to rival Nextel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile phone service, plans on Monday to introduce a walkie-talkie feature aimed at stealing customers from Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the leader in that market. Cingular, the wireless venture of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. is the last of the big three U.S. mobile providers to offer the feature, which was popularized by Nextel Communications, now part of Sprint Nextel. But extra bells and whistles and a wider network reach than Nextel could give Cingular an edge in winning new customers and boosting its average monthly revenue per user (ARPU), as well as its customer loyalty, one analyst said. "There's an opportunity for them to increase ARPU, reduce churn and to steal some of Nextel customers," said Andy Seybold, president of consultancy Outlook 4Mobility. He estimated that, Alltel Corp., which does not have a national network like Cingular, but uses the same technology for its walkie-talkie service, has already lured away hundreds of thousands of Nextel customers. __________ Read More / Source: Reuters