Hutchison doubles its 3G phones

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By Matt Whipp

Posted on 23 Oct 2002 at 15:08

Hutchison Whampoa adds a million 3G handsets to its NEC order

The new additions to the NEC order, first made last November, are different models to the initial order of 'clamshell' style devices.

The new NEC models (pictured) resemble something closer to a Treo-style communicator, with a button keyboard below a decent-sized screen. Hutchison 3G spokesperson Matt Peacock pointed out that these 'are late, late prototypes,' and may not be quite what's finally on offer.

They will operate on the wideband-CDMA standard that Peacock says offers bandwidths of 300Kbits/sec in 'real world use'. More than enough for videoconferencing.

They will certainly be 'dual-mode' capable, meaning that you can engage in data and voice calls at the same time - so videoconferencing while holding a conversation with the other party is possible.

Quite how the million handsets will be divided between Hutchison's nine territories, and how may are destined for the UK, Peacock was unwilling to divulge. However, he did tell us even more phones are on the way - this time from Motorola - which are expected in 'commercial volumes'. In all 100,000 handsets from both manufacturers should be in Hutchison's hands by the year end - split between the UK and Italy.

Peacock says that the doubling of the NEC order has not been prompted by a sudden change in expectation of the success of 3 (Hutchison's brand for its 3G services). 'The order was always planned, there is always a long lead time on business decisions of this nature... We are confidant of a broader and brighter outlook for 3G than is the current perception and that 3 will exceed customer expections.' he said.

A phased rollout

While Hutchison set a launch date of October 2002 for 3, it is being very careful to point out its phased approach to this.

It's the delays that usually come in phases when you're trying to pin down operators on the roll out of third-generation mobile services.

But Hutchison does already have handsets in the hands of its 'friends' and is opening high-street stores (two in London and another in Birmingham) towards the end of November to show the public just what 3 is all about.

Two weeks ago, 1,000 NEC handsets were delivered to Hutchison vendors and suppliers in the UK and Italy to sample the delights of 3. And to give you an idea of quite how intricately 'phased' this roll out is - this counts as stage one of phase one.

Hutchison 3G spokesperson Ed Brewster, told us: 'We are not committing to a strict timetable... We hope to achieve a successful introduction of the service, as opposed to a big bang marketing push.'

In the UK, Hutchison says it will have 50 per cent of the population covered, by 3,500 base stations.

The sort of services on offer will target, 'consumer and small businesses' we were told. These include goals from the Barclay card Premiership, person to person video streaming, hi-res gaming and other consumer media entertainment and location-based services.

Brewster would not be drawn on how or how much the company would charge for the services. 'Pricing structures will be simple and transparent,' he said.

However, he stressed that the worry of recouping the 3G licences is not something that worries Hutchison 3G. When Hutchison Whampoa bought the licences it passed them on to NTT DoCoMo and KPN Mobile, and so the burden of that rests with them. 'Hutchison 3G carries none of that debt,' he said. Financially, the company starts from in front rather than behind. 'We are financed for at least three years, with a one year extension,' he said.