Britain's first mainland 3G network opens
LONDON, Mar 3, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Britain's first mainland third generation mobile network is officially opening for business, enabling callers to see each other and send video footage via their phones, an official release said Monday.
3G has been much-hyped, promising to take mobile phones to a new level with video and data.
The date, March 3, 2003, is appropriate for the much- anticipated Hutchison 3 network, which is the new kid on the block for mobile services in Britain, the release said.
British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt made the Britain's first public mobile video call over Hutchison 3 network new service to Stephen Timms, the e-Commerce Minister.
"Today marks the arrival of 3G services in the UK. As the leading western market, the UK will be the pathfinder for this new technology," Hewitt said.
Hutchison, which has been advertising possible uses of its mobiles, including video conferencing and clips from football matches for several months on TV, has been taking pre-orders for handsets for several weeks.
From Monday, British famous high street retailers such as Dixons and Carphone Warehouse will also begin to take orders for the 3G phones.
The 3G handsets cost around 400 pounds or 648 US dollars, though customers are being offered a 50 percent discount if they order before the end of March.
But there have been massive delays in rolling out the networks and customers will not be able to get their hands on the phones until later this month, raising concerns over technical glitches and a shortage of handsets.
Italy, which is vying with Britain for rolling out 3G, saw its prime minister make the first Italian 3G call in last December.
Hutchison 3 network is not technically the first 3G network in the British Isles as rival mobile firm O2 is already operating its network on the Isle of Man, southern England.Copyright 2003 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
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