Page 8 - Sphere No.10 (Dec 2003)

SPHERE
126
H U T C H I S O N U P D A T E S
Newsbites
Hutchison has marked
the start of the 3G era
in Hong Kong with the unveiling of its
3 services.
At a media event on Dec. 15, HWL Group
Managing Director Canning Fok hailed the
move as a breakthrough for the
telecommunications industry in Hong Kong
which will enable people to easily gather and
share information while on the move.
When 3 goes live, it will deliver to customers
an integrated information, communication
and entertainment service via its new
generation of mobile phones, which also
offer video calling and video messaging.
“What we are going to offer has not been
seen here before, but it will become a part
of your everyday life,” Mr Fok said.
“3 will put Hong Kong at the forefront
of mobile communications globally.”
He demonstrated person-to-person video
calling by linking up with Kevin Russell,
CEO of 3 Australia, in Sydney.
Mr Fok also showed off some of 3’s other
features, including HomeWatch, a remote
surveillance service, and 3 Daily Express, which
allows customers to receive a host of
information and entertainment services
delivered automatically throughout the day, just
like SMS.The services Mr Fok demonstrated
included news, business information, weather
details and traffic updates.
The launch of the Hong Kong service
is a vital link in 3’s global network. Using the
world’s most sophisticated mobile telephony,
it links the people of Hong Kong with
friends, relatives and business colleagues
across the world.
Customers will be able to make video calls
to Australia, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Japan,
Sweden and the UK, and the network
of such countries is expanding rapidly.
Hutchison and NEC also launched the latest
NEC 616 video mobile phone.
“NEC is our supplier for both video mobile
phones and the 3G infrastructure, and also
a shareholder in our 3 Hong Kong
operations,” Mr Fok said.
“Together with our JV partner NTT
DoCoMo, we are very pleased to announce
this important handset launch and, most
importantly, to know that we share NEC’s
full support for the future.”
NEC Corp. President Mr Akinobu Kanasugi
said one million NEC 616s would
be delivered by year end and another 1.5
million by the end of Q1 2004.
Agnes Nardi, Managing Director of 3 Hong
Kong, said:“We are fortunate we can
leverage the resources of the global
Hutchison 3G Group to bring these new
services to market faster than our
competitors.These services have only just
become available in Europe and Australia
through our sister companies.”
The NEC 616 video mobile phones will
be sold at HK$4,380 (approximately
US$561) each in Hong Kong, or HK$3,980
for customers purchasing two or more units.
Tariffs are simple and flexible with three
basic plans.The monthly charges vary from
HK$263 to HK$533.
All tariff plans, which include video and
voice minutes plus MMS and content, are
designed to enable users to enjoy the entire
range of 3 services.
The second generation
of 3G video mobile
phones hansdsets has
arrived, spearheaded by
three new models that
offer high-resolution
videocalls and
videomessages of
striking quality, along
with a
basket
of powerful applications.
The Motorola A920 (212g),
launched in early Autumn, is
a tri-band
GSM/GPRS/UMTS
“communicator” with
integrated GPS, camera,
audio/video player, video
calling and full messaging
support. It is a particularly
powerful business tool.
The Motorola A835 (168g)
offers the latest in multi-media entertainment
with advanced messaging,
video phone, Bluetooth
wireless technology, full
browsing and a large
display capable of
supporting up to 64,000
colours.
The NEC 616 (131g),
released in December,
features a slim, cutting
edge style, and is loaded
with video and audio
streaming, Global
Positioning Satellite
technology for
enhanced location
services, Bluetooth
connectivity,
memory card
support, dual
display and
camera light.
Hutchison’s global 3 network
on Dec. 15 reported it had
a total of 660,000 subscribers in
Australia,Austria, Denmark,
Italy, Sweden and the UK, up
from 520,000 announced on
Aug. 21, 2003.
The subscriber numbers were:
340,000 in Italy, 210,000 in the
UK and a combined 110,000
in Australia,Austria, Sweden and Denmark.
H3G Ireland and
Vodafone Ireland have
jointly secured the FA Premier League
mobile rights in a three-season deal starting
with the 2004/05 season. Customers of 3
in Ireland will have access, via their mobiles,
to all 380 FA Premier League matches and
related information. H3G UK already has
mobile broadcasting rights for the League.
Kicking In
Numbers Gain
T E L E C O M S
NewVideophones Enter the Market
3 Heralds Era of Video Mobile Communications in Hong Kong
IRELAND
HONG KONG