METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVING PUSH-TO-TALK SERVICES TO NON-PUSH-TO-TALK ENABLED NETWORKS

A method for providing push-to-talk (PTT) service between PTT enabled devices (102) and non-PTT enabled devices (116) is disclosed. First, the non-PTT enabled device is registered at a PTT interworking agent (110). Then, signaling data is received at an interface (110) in a first format. The signaling data includes an identifier corresponding to one or more destination phones. Next, the signaling data in the first format is converted to a second signaling protocol at the PTT interworking agent. The push-to-talk signaling information is sent to a push-to-talk server (106) and a destination address is located for each of the one or more phones associated with the signaling data. The signaling data is then routed to the one or more phones.