Page 17 - Sphere No.6 (Jun 2002)

S PHERE
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Bannister, will give the company a
chance to learn from the pioneers.
Like its sister companies, Hi3G will
offer top-tier sports content, including
football and ice hockey.
“But the Scandinavian mobile mar-
ket has always been highly sophisticated,
and Hi3G will initially target business
professionals who are not impressed
with hype. In Europe, Scandinavia leads
in PC penetration, Web usage, Internet
banking – they are a very technological-
ly savvy people,” says Bannister.
“There are more m-commerce trials
going on in this region than in the rest
of Europe.There’s a hunger for technol-
ogy which we aim to satisfy by bringing
a keen marketing edge to our services
and delivering real benefit rather than
gimmicks.”
Hi3G and two of its competitors
have created a JV company, 3G
Infrastructure Services, to build a com-
mon UMTS infrastructure outside
Sweden’s major urban areas. This will
significantly cut costs while leaving the
operators free to compete where it
counts – providing content and services.
The full menu of content and appli-
cations has yet to be revealed, but with a
global footprint covering some 170 mil-
lion people, the eyes of the world will be
firmly focused on Hutchison’s 3G
launch this year.
“This is going to happen whatever
the cynics say,” Tucker enthuses. “3G
will improve people’s lives – it
really will.”
Reacting to a presentation by H3G
in May, John Godfray, head of conglom-
erates research at ABN AMRO Asia,
said: “This is a seriously exciting story,
and I can now understand why Canning
Fok told me two years ago this was the
most exciting project he’d ever worked
on. We (the analysts) were gobsmacked
by the whole thing.”
The building blocks are in place, the
customers are out there and it’s almost
time for the show to begin.
–With reporting by Mark Caldwell
3G
Romeo Galanti, a Milan-based banker, is in Rome on business. Although
his day is filled with meetings, Romeo makes time to call florist Maria
Rossetti for a special bouquet for his wife Juliet, on the occasion of their
fifth wedding anniversary. Using the camera on her 3G handset, Rossetti
shows Romeo her selection of floral arrangements. Romeo chooses a
bouquet, adds a special email card and also forwards Juliet’s address with
instructions on when the flowers should reach her. Finally, Romeo pays for
the service by keying in his secure payment pin number. All this in a span
of six minutes.
Later, Rossetti hops on her delivery bike and uses her 3G device to find
the quickest route to Juliet’s office. Naturally, Juliet is delighted to receive
her bunch of red roses and sends a thank-you MMS with kisses and roses
to her husband.
Lucky Wong knows the importance of
good timing and values his time. Like many
Hong Kong residents, he thrives on busi-
ness, follows the markets, appreciates qual-
ity, and loves the horses. It’s Wednesday
evening and Wong, who is returning by
ferry from his manufacturing plant in
Guangzhou, doesn’t want to miss the
Happy Valley races, which are in full swing.
From the form-guide obtained through
his 3G handset, Wong thinks “Speedy
Money” has a very good chance. With a
few clicks he places a bet which is auto-
matically charged to his Hong Kong
Jockey Club account.Then he watches the
race on the small but high-resolution
screen.To his delight, the horse wins by a
neck.With odds of 6 to 1,Wong has made
a nice profit.
The windfall will justify his splashing out
on the Ming Dynasty vase he’s been eye-
ing.Wasting no time, he bids for the piece
on Sotheby’s auction site. Since fortune
seems to be smiling on him,Wong logs on
to his UK stock trading account and adds
some shares to his portfolio.
As the ferry approaches its mooring, an
icon of a limo appears on Wong’s 3G
screen.With one click he is in contact with
his driver who is waiting outside to take
him to the racetrack – in good time to
enjoy a light supper and watch the last two
races. Approaching Happy Valley, an MMS
appears on his 3G screen: he has won the
bid for the vase. Ah, timing is everything!
– MC