QChat
Encyclopedia
QChat is a Push-to-Talk (PTT) technology developed by Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...

.

The QChat software application was developed by Qualcomm Internet Services (QIS) a division of Qualcomm and part of the Qualcomm Wireless and Internet group . QIS offers a set of software products and content enablement services to support and accelerate the growth of the wireless data market .

Qualcomm developed QChat to provide a reliable method of instant connection and two-way communication between users in different locations, but operating within the same type of network architecture. Prior to the existence of cellular and personal communications services networks, this type of communication was limited to private Land Mobile Radio System
Land Mobile Radio System
Land Mobile Radio System is a term that denotes a wireless communications system intended for use by terrestrial users in vehicles or on foot . Such systems are used by emergency first responder organizations, public works organizations, or companies with large vehicle fleets or numerous field...

 (LMR) technology used by public safety and utility service agencies. LMR has limitations, specifically its usage can be restricted by geographic coverage area and by use of disparate frequency bands.

QChat, an application developed for the BREW platform, is a PTT communication technology for 3G networks. QChat handsets and server software allow users to connect instantaneously with other QChat users anywhere in the world with the push of a button. In addition, QChat enables one-to-one (private) and one-to-many (group) calls over the 3G networks .

QChat uses standard Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies. VoIP is a voice delivery mechanism that uses the Internet Protocol to manage the delivery of voice information. Voice information is sent in digital form over IP-based data networks (including CDMA) in discrete packets rather than traditional circuit-switched protocols such those used in the public switched telephone network
Public switched telephone network
The public switched telephone network is the network of the world's public circuit-switched telephone networks. It consists of telephone lines, fiber optic cables, microwave transmission links, cellular networks, communications satellites, and undersea telephone cables, all inter-connected by...

 (PSTN).

How Does QChat Work?

QChat users on 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...

 wireless devices can connect to each other worldwide, in either private or group calls, with the push of a button. QChat uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies to allow subscribers to communicate by using a PTT button on the handset instead of making a standard cellular call.

QChat calls are created by combining separate point-to-point connections between each IP endpoint; the process is managed by the QChat Applications Server, which is deployed on the carrier’s IP-based Wide Area Network
Wide area network
A wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...

 (WAN).

To initiate a call, a user presses the PTT button and receives an immediate indication of whether the call recipient is available. If he or she is, the caller can begin speaking immediately. If the recipient is unavailable, the caller will simply hear a negative response tone instead of a busy signal or voicemail .

What Are the Advantages of QChat?

Because QChat uses VoIP architecture, subscribers using standard 3G CDMA data networks worldwide will be able to push a button to talk. For instance, a QChat user in Boston could make a direct push-to-talk connection with another QChat subscriber in Beijing.

QChat enables end users to set up QChat groups dynamically from the handset without the need for action from a system administrator. Because QChat is implemented on top of BREW, consumers can choose from a wider variety of handsets from multiple handset manufacturers.

The QChat application benefits from CDMA’s inherent security attributes. Since CDMA signals are digital in nature and transmitted across a wide bandwidth (as opposed to transmission over discrete frequencies), it possesses a low probability of interception and a low probability of detection, thus ensuring that transmissions are resistant to decoding and eavesdropping.

In addition, QChat offers these advantages:
  • Support for over-the-air upgrade of QChat client software via the wireless download feature of the BREW platform
  • Dynamic management of group membership by subscribers (i.e., the ability to add or remove participants at any time, on their handset)
  • Ad hoc creation of chat groups on the handset, in addition to the standing groups that an administrator may establish
  • Easy implementation of the user interface across multiple device types and in multiple languages.

QChat and Sprint

On October 16, 2006 Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...

 announced an agreement with Qualcomm to use QChat to provide high performance push-to-talk services to its customers on the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network, using CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A technology.

QChat is able to interoperate with iDEN push-to-talk handsets on the Nextel National Network, with claims by Sprint of call set-up latency of less than one second between handsets . A video demonstrating the speed and interoperability has been posted at YouTube.

Sprint's phones supporting QChat technology were released starting in April 2008, with a trial of business customers in Kansas and Colorado . Sprint then announced that the Nextel Direct Connect devices powered by QChat were available in more than 40 markets in June 2008 .

Supported models include :
  • Sanyo
    Sanyo
    is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....

     Pro 200
  • Sanyo
    Sanyo
    is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....

     Pro 700
  • LG
    LG
    LG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...

     LX400 (Discontinued)
  • Motorola
    Motorola
    Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

     V950 (Discontinued)
  • Samsung
    Samsung
    The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

     Z400 (Discontinued)
  • Samsung
    Samsung
    The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

     Z700 (Discontinued)


QChat has been launched in a total of 54 Sprint markets .

See also

Article with technical details of QChat

Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone...

 (iDEN)

Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne, CDMA2000 and WCDMA , which are often referred to as simply CDMA, and use CDMA as an underlying channel access...

(CDMA)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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