In the world of business retail it is all about being first out of the starting blocks with a new product — and nowhere is that more the case than in the realm of telecommunications and cell phone technology.

Digicel was just beaten to the starting line — by a matter of days — after rival CellularOne announced it was bringing a new walkie-talkie style cell phone to the Island.

But Digicel is forging ahead nevertheless with its version of the push-to-talk technology and expects to be selling the handsets to customers before the month is out.

And the cell phones, which feature a special walkie-talkie function button, will quickly be made available in a number of handset designs in the wake of the first off the shelf version which features a rubberised casing to protect it from being dropped and other workplace hazards.

The new service allows the user to set up contact groups that can be as small as a one-to-one communication link to another person with a push-to-talk (PTT) phone or a whole network of people. They can be contacted in an instant by pressing the button on the phone just like a two-way radio.

It’s a simple process. Just press the button to talk and then release the button to listen to the other person reply. The cell phone also has normal dial up functions for standard phone calling.

The beauty of the unit, which for Digicel will arrive as a Nokia handset, is the ease with which a wide number of people can be contacted at the push of a single button and the very low cost of using the PTT function compared to normal cell phone calling tariffs.

Digicel general manager David Hunter has used the handsets during tests of the equipment on the Island. The company is now waiting for a shipment of handsets within the next two to three weeks so it can start selling them to customers.

“It is another service that we pride ourselves in and it’s a new product we feel will be of use to service industries,” said Mr. Hunter.

The technology has been in use in other countries for a number of years. In the US it has proved popular with youngsters who use the phones keep in touch with their friends at a minimal cost and without having to dial multiple numbers, said Mr. Hunter.

He added: “For people in the service industries, taxi drivers and guys who are out ‘working in the field’ it is useful.”

Despite being just pipped to the post by CellularOne in announcing the arrival of the new PTT phones, Mr. Hunter said such competitiveness to be the first to bring new technology to the marketplace was a good thing for customers in Bermuda and kept everyone alert and eager.