I wish it weren't so, and I fully recognize that Dr. J. was probably aware that his talk at Cannes would not help Q's fortunes, but the facts are the facts--UMTS is late and will probably be later than Nokia thinks. The reasons are obvious: The standards are wobbly and there are no handsets in sight. Here's a sampling of more recently announced Euro UMTS delays:
Swisscom 3G launch delayed to 2003
12/11/2001 Editor: Veronica Garcia-Robles
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Swisscom, who had intended to provide UMTS services in Switzerland by 2002, has now delayed its mass-market 3G launch as it will not be ready before 2003.
Apparently, the company will not have a sufficient quantity of 3G handsets before 2003 and it has taken Swisscom longer to build its network infrastructure than it had planned. Another problem causing the delay is the planning permission process that each mast the company erects must go through due to Switzerland’s tight environmental regulations.
Meanwhile Swisscom has announced that Ericsson, the company’s infrastructure provider, will be providing its test handsets.
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MobilCom delays German 3G service launch
13/11/2001 Editor: Veronica Garcia-Robles
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MobilCom’s German 3G services, which were to be launched in the middle of 2002, have now been delayed until autumn next year.
According to the company’s chairman Gerhard Schmid, the delays are due to handset shortages. By autumn 2002, however, the company expects to receive its first 3G UMTS phones. In August 2000, the MobilCom paid DM16.37bn (E8.36bn) for its 3G licence.
The German mobile operator made a net loss of E42m from July to September this year, resulting in a total net loss of E114m during the first three-quarters of 2000.
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Italian UMTS launch delayed
14/11/2001 Editor: Geoff Choo
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The launch of UMTS in Italy will be delayed at least until September 2002, according to Vittorio Colao, CEO of Omnitel Vodafone.
When will Italy begin offering 3G? "We will only know in May or June 2002, when, and more importantly, what we will start with," says Colao. "That is, when we will see the first 3G phones, their prices, and the functionality they will provide."
However without a 3G network, the phones are quite useless. Colao added that the networks still have to be completed. "We should be ready around September or October. We plan to build one thousand antennas; about ten have already been built." |
