LONDON-A U.K. supplier plans to offer push-to-talk services in the United Kingdom through an alliance with Wizcom Ltd., which owns retail outlet chain Phones4U. In October, Fastmobile’s Fastchat service will be available through Phones4U stores in the United Kingdom.
The service will initially be sold on Symbian operating system-compatible phones, with plans to increase the number of handsets by the Christmas sales period.
“Walkie-talkie conversations can now be held on compatible GPRS handsets across all the main U.K. networks and internationally,” said John O’Boyle, European marketing director of Fastmobile.
The company said the service does not require special hardware to be added to either the mobile phones or the networks and does not affect other network operator services. It will be sold as an application to existing phones and as a value-added service to new purchasers.
