Page 15 - Sphere No.18 (Feb 2007)

SPHERE 13
From sea to air
While HPUK rules the waves, HWL’s highest profile
UK brand is 3, which has led the market in 3G mobile
technology since it burst on the scene in 2003. HWL
acquired a 3G licence in the UK in 2000, marking the
Group’s first foray into the 3G business.
Building a strong brand in a country with a popula-
tion of 60 million is not easy. Hutchison succeeded by
using experience and expertise gained from an earlier
telecomventure, Orange, a successful brand andmobile
business established by HWL in 1994. Some London-
ers can still recall the day when their city was turned
Orange as part of a massive branding campaign.
In 1999, the sale of Orange helped Hutchison make
the biggest profit in its corporate history. Hutchison
showed its commitment to the UK by reinvesting part
of the proceeds in 3G, which was seen as the future
of telecommunications. Today, the Group runs 3G
networks in 11 markets and together with Ireland, the
UK is now its second largest market with 3.75 million
customers (as at August 2006).
Among the five 3G licencees in the UK, 3 was the
first to market with a 3G offering and it has been
racking up firsts ever since. In August 2006 it was the
first company to offer MSN Messenger on a mobile;
3 was also the first to launch dual download which
allows customers who buy music by mobile to down-
load it online to PCs at home, for no extra charge.
3 is also the biggest mobile music retailer with 75 per
cent of the market.
In December 2006, 3 UK launched the X-Series in
partnership with Skype, Sling Media, Yahoo!, Nokia,
Google, eBay, Microsoft, Orb and Sony Ericsson. The
X-Series unleashes the true power of broadband In-
ternet over the mobile, enabling people on the move
to surf the net, access their PC at home or even use
their handset to watch a programme showing on
their TV at home.
THE UK CONNECTION