AT&T cuts PTT service to $5 per month, intros new phone

AT&T Mobility announced it will halve the monthly cost of its push-to-talk service – from $10 per month to $5 – likely a defensive response to Verizon Wireless’ recent PTT price drop from $10 to $5 a month. The activity could indicate a PTT price war, as Sprint Nextel Corp. remains at the $10-a-month price point.
A PTT price war has precedent; Verizon Wireless was first out of the gate with a $100 per month unlimited calling offering, but was jointed within hours by its rivals.
In conjunction with the PTT price cut, AT&T Mobility also introduced a new PTT phone, the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. “Rugby.” The rugged device supports AT&T Mobility’s video-sharing feature, and works on the carrier’s 3G network. The new device costs $130 with a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year agreement.
“As AT&T’s best-in-class rugged device, only Rugby brings users like construction foremen and landscape designers the ability to share live video from one phone to another,” said Jeff Bradley, senior VP of business marketing and operations for AT&T Mobility. “Employees can literally see more than one work site at one time.”
AT&T Mobility’s PTT announcement comes on the heels of recent PTT moves by Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless launched two new PTT devices on its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A network. Sprint Nextel too is working to boost its push offerings having recently rolled out its own Rev. A PTT service that is interoperable with its legacy iDEN PTT service that counts more than 15 million users.