Could-be a spin-off from LTE based ESNs
The recent decision by the British government to award an ESN [Emergency Services Network] contract to leading UK MNO [Mobile Network Operator], EE, has caused the team here at GoMo Towers to speculate. Could we be on the brink of a comeback for Push-To-Talk [PTT]? Only this time as a service running over LTE? After all, if EE is going to replicate what services Brit emergency responders currently enjoy over TETRA (the current technology used in Europe), then basically it is going to have to offer some kind of PTT facility. There are going to be both benefits and drawbacks to such a scenario. Firstly, PTT could be offered to more than just emergency services customers – all kinds of commercial customers. Secondly, it is going to make an ESN much easier to hack because suppliers and users are going to be using widely available components.
Whereas with TETRA the handsets are relatively uncommon – thus making it harder for them to fall into the wrong hands.
Don’t forget – during WW II, Germany’s Enigma coding was never cracked.
The British knew what its enemy was sending because they obtained an Enigma machine from a Polish escapee.
So it will be with LTE based ESN handsets. A lot easier for one to go missing undetected.
Now PTT went out of fashion because its greatest exponent – America’s Nextel, dropped the technology when it was acquired by Sprint.
At the time, however, Nextel enjoyed high ARPU and less churn than its rivals. Mainly because of the PTT facility.
But Motorola’s iDEN technology disappeared with Nextel’s acquisition.
Significantly, however, Motorola is amongst the seven suppliers bidding to obtain the award for implementing ESN over EE’s LTE network.
More to the point. Motorola has recently [December 2015] acquired Airwave – the company currently running the existing Brit ESN network using TETRA technology. (See ‘Motorola steps in to save UK’s Airwave‘).
We think that Motorola is hoping that by acquiring the experience of running an emergency service network, it may be able to transfer that to other commercial areas.
Much as Motorola did when it had iDEN. And more to the point the market is much bigger now.
There are a whole range of MVNOs to sell to – not justthe MNOs who were the only potential clients back in the early days of PTT.
