LONDON - October 8, 2001 - Hutchison 3G UK, ("Hutchison 3G"), holder of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license for the largest block of spectrum in the UK, today announced that it has signed an agreement with GridCom, National Grid's new stand alone company, to locate radio antennas on the company's existing pylons.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Under the agreement GridCom will be responsible for site surveying, obtaining permission from site owners and for the installation of Hutchison 3G's telecommunications equipment. The contract covers up to 1,000 existing pylons, primarily located alongside key transport routes.

Colin Tucker, Managing Director of Hutchison 3G said: "As we roll out our 3G network, we have focussed on site sharing on existing structures, this agreement to locate equipment on GridCom's pylons, means we are reducing the environmental impact, as well as the number of new sites. The location of the 1,000 sites covered under this agreement, alongside major transport arteries, is also a good fit with our proposed network rollout plan. GridCom's experience in site surveying and equipment installation is also very valuable to Hutchison 3G going forward."

National Grid group director Europe and UK chief executive Steve Holliday said: "This contract builds upon our experience in providing an infrastructure service from our existing assets to meet the growing need for good quality sites for mobile phone operators.

"Installing antennas on National Grid pylons minimises their environmental impact and reduces the need for many free-standing masts. This brings savings for the operators, and strong planning and visual amenity advantages to local communities."

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Notes to Editors:

Hutchison 3G UK

Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. ("Hutchison 3G") holds licence 'A' (a third-generation mobile licence), which was issued by the UK government in May 2000. This licence was the largest block of spectrum auctioned in the UK, as it was set-aside for a new entrant to the market. The licence consists of 15mhz of paired spectrum, and 5mhz of unpaired spectrum.

3G is a convergence of mobile, telephony and information systems which promises to change people's lives by enabling them to access information when, where and how they want. The 3G standard (agreed throughout Europe, Japan, China, and the rest of Asia) is formally known as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). It represents a global standard for third generation mobile communication systems and is at the heart of the Hutchison 3G initiative.

Hutchison Whampoa Limited holds a 65 per cent stake in Hutchison 3G, the other major shareholders are NTT DoCoMo (20 per cent) KPN Mobile (15 per cent).

www.hutchison3g.com

Gridcom

National Grid has extensive experience in developing telecoms infrastructure. In the early 1990s the company founded Energis, now a FTSE 100 company in its own right, by wrapping optical fibre along its electricity transmission network. Four years ago, the company took a further step into the market by installing mobile antennae on transmission towers for a number of telecoms operators.

National Grid owns 22,000 transmission towers throughout England and Wales. GridCom was formed by National Grid to capitalise on its extensive experience in providing infrastructure for the telecoms market.

For further details of GridCom visit www.gridcom.co.uk

For further details of National Grid visit www.nationalgrid.com