System and method for providing an early notification when paging a wireless device

A server capable of handling push-to-talk (PTT) communications in a communication network, wherein the server, upon receiving a call request message for a PTT communication,

• identifies at least one target wireless device,
• transmits a testing message to the at least one target wireless device before allocating resources to the PTT communication,
• allocates resources to the at least one target wireless device, and
• transmits an announce message to the at least one target wireless device after allocating the resources to the PTT communication.

A computer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program for reducing queuing time for an activity announcement message during a push-to-talk (PTT) communication in a wireless communication network, the computer program comprising computer instructions that when executed by a server performs the steps of:

• receiving at the server a first message from an origination device;
• invoking a PTT feature at the server after receiving the first message;
• identifying at least one targeted device for the PTT communication;
• transmitting a second message from the server to the at least one targeted device, the second message having a header with an empty message body and being transmitted before the activity announcement message is sent by the server to the at least one target device;
• and
• transmitting the activity announcement message from the server to the at least one target device.

The method of computer program 11, wherein the step of allocating resources further comprising the steps of:

• selecting a vocoder for the PTT communication;
• selecting a media hosting device for the PTT communication;
• and
• checking for call restrictions for the at least one target device.

A system for reducing queuing time for an activity announcement message during a push-to-talk (PTT) communication in a wireless communication network, comprising:

• a server in communication with the wireless communication network, the server selectively transmitting to a user device a plurality of messages;
• a base station in communication with the server and the user device;
• and
• a user device capable of communicating with the server through the base station,
• wherein the server, upon receiving a call request message from the user device for a PTT communication,
• identifies at least one target wireless device,
• transmits a testing message to the at least one target wireless device before the server allocates resources to the PTT communication, and
• transmits an announce message to the at least one target wireless device after allocating the resources to the PTT communication.