According to the Globe and Mail, Telus is set to announce a new service tomorrow called Link tomorrow, which will be an upgrade of its existing Mike push-to-talk service (which runs on the legacy IDEN network) to high speed 4G HSPA and LTE networks. This will enable users to use high speed data to browse the web or run apps on top of making two-way radio calls.
The move is seen as a push back response to Bell, which revamped and launched its own push-to-talk service this year. Jim Senko, vice-president of small business solutions at Telus said “It can reach more remote areas and you can get the applications.”
The push-to-talk market is mostly used by natural resource sectors and construction, but also other niche segments such as those involved with extreme sports, where instant communication with rugged devices is seen as essential.
The new TELUS Link service will work with iOS, Android and BlackBerry 7.
