Verizon, Nextel end PTT spat

Dueling lawsuits filed last year by Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications Inc. were resolved late last week as both companies announced an “amicable resolution” to the lawsuits that were centered around the carriers’ walkie-talkie services. Verizon Wireless initially filed suit against Nextel last June in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, claiming Nextel had unlawfully obtained a pair of Motorola Inc. V60p handsets designed for Verizon Wireless’ Push-to-Talk network prior to Verizon’s service launch and had accessed the network with the handsets without Verizon Wireless’ permission. Nextel denied the claims, but filed a lawsuit of its own last September in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York claiming Verizon Wireless’ advertising of its by-then-launched Push-to-Talk service included “false and unsubstantiated claims” that it had the “best, more reliable network.” The settlement calls for both suits to be dismissed with terms of the deal remaining confidential. Nextel owned the push-to-talk market until Verizon decided to enter the industry last year. Since then, a number of wireless carriers have launched PTT services and more carriers have announced plans to do so shortly.