MUMBAI: Reiterating its leadership in providing innovative services, Hutch has now launched 'push2talk' mobile service that combines a walkie-talkie experience with instant messaging, Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multi-media Messaging Service (MMS) and voice messaging.

The push2talk service was first introduced in the US last year, by Nextel Communications.

Hutch has partnered with international technology partner Fastmobile for the service and will be available to all Hutch and Orange users nationally.

Hutchison Essar director Asim Ghosh said, "Push2Talk further expands the utility of the mobile phone. It opens up a new channel of communication. Push2Talk benefits the value-conscious consumer as much as the enterprise user. It is unique since it uses existing infrastructure to deliver a unique, new user experience. "Over 150,000 Hutch and Orange users will be immediately able to use the service in India.

Fastmobile senior vice president Adam Sewall said, "Bringing fastchat to one of the world's fastest growing mobile phone market represents a significant step for the company. We're very pleased to achieve this milestone with our partner Hutchison Essar. Hutch is one of the leading brand names in India and also has the vision of expanded VAS to both its consumer and enterprise customers."

Hutch has been running trials of this service over the last three months. The push2talk service will be available at a price of Rs 99 per month. Users will also be able to send unlimited push2talk messages.