Nextel Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTL) announced today that the U.S. trademark office has approved the registration of its trademark for its Push to Talk™ service (see Nextel Pushes Trademark Button).

According to Nextel spokeswoman Audrey Schaefer, the company now has a trademark on the phrase, Push to Talk™ and a registered trademark for the acronym PTT®. Schaefer says that the carrier will "certainly" work to protect its new trademark.

Push to Talk™ is a phrase that has often been used to describe Nextel's Direct Connect digital walkie-talkie-likie service (see Nextel's Nationwide Walkie-Talkie for a description of how the technology works). Currently, Nextel is the only major U.S. carrier that operates this kind of service. However, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (NYSE: AWE), Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS), Verizon Wireless, and others are working on delivering similar voice-over-IP-based services (see Verizon Mum on Push-to-Talk). So, if Nextel is as good as its word, the other carriers are going to have to get their thinking caps on to find some new ways to say Push to Talk™.

Click to Chat, maybe, or Talkie-Walkie? Pull My Finger? Here at Unstrung manor we like the idea of a Rabbit Button... but that's just us. — Dan© Jones, Senior Editor, Unstrung