Cell Phone Feature Saving Businesses Time, Money

Walking and talking

With the rising popularity of cell phone walkie-talkies, passers- by can now hear both ends of the conversation. Here’s a few tips on etiquette:

* Chirp — Users can send a quiet chirping sound to the person they’re trying to contact, rather than blurting something out while the recipient sits in a morning meeting.

* Alert — Text alerts let the recipient know someone is trying to call them. They then can ignore the request if they choose.

* Speaker phone — Perhaps most importantly, turn off the speaker phone function. Cell phone walkie-talkies can be used with the ear piece or headset.

* Vibrate — Turn off the ringer. Turn on the vibrate function for notice of incoming calls.

SOURCE: Cushman/Amberg Communications Inc. of Chicago——

BLOOMINGTON — Some Central Illinois businesses don’t bother with standard cell phones anymore.

Newer mobile phones also function as walkie-talkies so people may converse at the push of a button. The technology is gaining popularity, particularly in the construction and delivery industries.

No more busy signals. No more answering machines. Users know before they dial whether the person on the other end is connected to the network. The phone gives a list of available people.

No more repeating the same message over and over to different employees. Most cellular companies offer plans connecting up to 20 people at once, so off-site supervisors can address multiple workers at the same time.

And no more counting cell-phone minutes.

"It’s less expensive than talking on a cell phone. You’re minimizing your air time. You don’t have to worry about phone numbers or somebody being on the phone. But certainly it’s less expensive," said Wayne Clayton, risk manager of Stark Excavating in Bloomington.

About 120 Stark employees in Bloomington-Normal, Peoria, Champaign and as far north as Interstate 80 carry cell phones with the walkie-talkie function to coordinate the location of equipment and supplies, Clayton said.

It slashes about 40 percent off Stark’s monthly phone bill because employees aren’t racking up minutes. Most walkie-talkie plans offer unlimited minutes.

Plus, Stark no longer needs to pay $650 to $700 for a traditional walkie-talkie, Clayton said.

He also enjoys the convenience.

"At the push of a button, I can talk to any of our supervisors in Champaign, Peoria or up north. I was in a conference in San Diego back in March and was communicating with people in Bloomington as though I was in Bloomington," he said.

Central Illinois Courier Inc. in Bartonville also cut its costs by switching to cell phones with the walkie-talkie function.

"The two-way walkie-talkie is very economical for us. It’s a deal for us," said dispatcher Ray Moulton.

The commercial delivery company has trucks traveling throughout Illinois, and sometimes plans change, he said. Drivers may need to make an extra stop or change the order of deliveries.

"It would be harder for us to make last-minute changes (without walkie-talkies). We need to be able to contact our drivers quickly," Moulton said. "If we can’t reach them on direct connect, we couldn’t reach them on a cell phone."

Seeing the success of Nextel’s Nationwide Direct Connect, launched in 2001, most major wireless companies now offer a "press to talk," or PTT, service. Around 16.8 million cellular subscribers had walkie-talkie services at the end of 2004, according to communications-researcher In-Stat Market Research. About one-third of businesses nationwide surveyed by J.D. Power and Associates use push-to-talk technology.

U.S. Cellular is the most recent company to mimic Nextel, introducing Speed Talk a month ago.

"It’s worked better than we have ever planned," said Dan Blocker, U.S. Cellular field marketing manager for Central Illinois. "It’s definitely something that our customers had been asking for. As soon as we rolled it out and started to get our advertising out there, we’ve seen a demand."

While the service is more common in the business community, he said, families are taking to it, too.

"Now they can have quick conversations to check in with the kids," Blocker said. "The 18 to 25 age group is starting to get into it also."