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A decade ago, the up-and-coming wireless technology for companies let employees use their cellphones as walkie-talkies.

The so-called push-to-talk service proved to be quite lucrative for cellphone carrier Telus Corp., which ran the only integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) in Canada. Groups including construction and oil workers quickly signed up for the convenience of communicating with the press of a button.

But push-to-talk has since lost some of its lustre. Analysts say Telus' core target market has been largely tapped out, while growth in monthly customer bills has stalled.

Other cellphone technologies now offer competing services, along with high-growth data applications. The glory days for this “legacy” technology appear to be in the past, and some believe its days may be numbered.

“What Telus has to do is decide what to do with iDEN now,” said Genuity Capital Markets analyst Dvai Ghose.

Vancouver-based Telus, along with Sprint Nextel Corp. in the United States, are the biggest North American wireless carriers that operate the networks, using technology created by Motorola Inc. For a time, it was a treasure chest. Customers tended to stick around since they could only make group walkie-talkie calls on the network. They also spent more money each month than other subscribers, according to analysts.

Yet, the market started to mature. Motorola noted in its 2006 annual report that revenue from these products slipped.

“I don't think Motorola has pushed a lot of R&D [research and development] in terms of data and other value-added applications into it because it's seen as being a discontinued line,” Mr. Ghose said.

The technology doesn't offer the same speeds or breadth of data applications that are available on the PCS (personal communications service) cellular networks that most people use. (Telus and Sprint both operate these networks as well.) iDEN customers can browse the Web on their phones at speeds of up to 100 kilobits per second, compared with 400-800 kbps on the more common cellular networks. So if a customer wants to listen to music, watch videos, or even visit a lot of websites, PCS is for them. BlackBerry fans will also find more choice with PCS.

“iDEN was a very big step in 1995,” said Allyn Hall, director of the consumer markets practice at Arizona-based market research firm In-Stat, who figures the technology could be on the way out. “It hasn't made any big steps since then of any importance.”

In contrast, he said other cellular technologies “have been busy figuring out how to do things a lot better.”

Motorola, however, sees plenty of prospects. The company is expanding in new markets, such as India, and introducing new devices, according to Rick Wolochatiuk, senior director, international customer operations for iDEN mobile devices.

Motorola is still investing in the technology, although Mr. Wolochatiuk did acknowledge that its R&D spending on devices has been flat in recent years. And since it is a “narrowband” technology, don't look for any big improvements in data services. Motorola, however, argues the services its core customer base relies on, including push-to-talk, barcode scanning and GPS work very well.

Motorola isn't going to try to replicate those fast Internet speeds on its iDEN network, Mr. Wolochatiuk said in an interview. “Motorola certainly has other technologies that will compete aggressively in that space.”

Its client, Telus, which does not disclose specific numbers, continues to add “lots” of new customers each year, according to David Fuller, senior vice-president of solutions and products at Telus Business Solutions. The company has no plans to stop operating the network for a long time, he says. Last week, the company added four new handsets for its iDEN network.

However, Telus said it's moving some customers who use a lot of data services to PCS, though Mr. Fuller said it's a small number. While Telus doesn't break out results separately for the two networks, it recently said PCS customers spend more on data services.

“We're actually taking the higher end users and converting them over to PCS,” Telus chief financial officer Robert McFarlane told the Scotia Capital Telecom & Tech 2008 conference last month.

For now, the core base of iDEN users, such as transport workers, isn't going away. The opportunity for Telus is to find ways to sell new services to those existing push-to-talk customers, according to Mr. Ghose. After all, Telus could keep running the service for years without investing a lot of money in it, he said. That's what the carriers did with their analog wireless networks for years after they went digital.

“There will be a huge number of people who stay on iDEN of the total base,” Mr. Ghose said. “You have to come up with more things they can spend money on.”

History of iDEN and PCS

1994 — Handset maker Motorola Inc. rolls out its new iDEN wireless system. The network brings together paging, radio dispatch, voice and data services into a single handset. The push-to-talk service is born.

1995 — Canada auctions new wireless spectrum, or airwaves, for a new generation of cellular phone technology called personal communications services (PCS). Canada's Clearnet Communications Inc. is among the winners. The United States starts auctioning off PCS spectrum the same year. PCS carriers must choose between different systems, including GSM and CDMA. Consumers everywhere look forward to smaller cellphones that can actually fit in their pockets.

1996 — Clearnet launches its iDEN service, called Mike. Nextel in the U.S. introduces an iDEN service the same year. As for the PCS world, AT&T starts rolling out its service in the U.S.

1997 — Canadian carriers, including Bell Mobility and Clearnet turn on their PCS networks.

2003 — Verizon Wireless in the U.S. introduces a push-to-talk service on PCS.

2005 — Bell Mobility launches a PCS-version of push-to-talk.