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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting

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To: Ramsey Su who started this subject	9/22/2002 9:12:10 AM
From: foundation	of 196656

Phone firms at war over 3G launch by Simon Fluendy, Mail on Sunday A HUGE row erupted this weekend between the third-generation mobile phone operator owned by Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong - known simply as 3 - and its British rivals. Hutchison has incensed UK operators Vodafone, mmO2, T-mobile and Orange by insisting on going ahead with a 3G launch despite technical hitches with the system that have led the British operators to hold back. Vodafone chief executive Sir Chris Gent has warned that its 3G system launch will be delayed until at least the middle of next year. Other operators, including Orange and mmO2, have also slowed down the roll-out of 3G mobile services, despite spending a total of £22.4 billion on licences. But Hutchison insists it will launch a 3G service next month, though only 1,000 'friendly' customers will get phones. A Hutchison source said: 'Our competitors have a huge investment in ''2.5G technology'' [the halfway house between true 3G, which allows real multimedia services, and current phones]. 'They don't want to tell their customers their new GPRS phones will be obsolete almost as soon as they buy them.' GPRS - general packet radio systems - allow high-speed sending and receiving of data. But a source close to one of the established operators rejected this claim. 'Everyone else is just terrified of having a repeat of the WAP fiasco,' he said. 'TV adverts for WAP showed a silver surfer and the slogan ''Surf the web on your mobile''. It didn't work and caused a huge backlash against data services on mobiles.' Hutchison has no stake in the British mobiles market at present, and so has no interest in seeing the continued use of phones using established technology. The 3G licences were auctioned when enthusiasm for telecoms was surging. Vodafone's share price has fallen by 75% from its peak and mmO2 has lost half its value in less than a year since it was spun out from BT. thisislondon.co.uk ========== "But Hutchison insists it will launch a 3G service next month, though only 1,000 'friendly' customers will get phones." <ggg> This hardly constitutes a commercial launch... Sounds like Hutchison will be running a trial next month - at best. Must Hutchison contractually "sign off" and pay for infrastructure in this context? Seems unlikely at a trial stage... Will Hutchison stiff vendors until (if) the standard stabilizes?

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