3G Sponsored by SPIRENT
Anritsu
Click to visit Anritsu
 
Free Network Wall Poster from Catapult
Free Network Wall Poster from Catapult - click for more info.
 
Tertio Free Demo
See Tertio at TeleManagement World Book a free demo of Tertio's leading service activation and mediation solutions, Provident and Evident at TMW 18-20 May,  Nice.
 
3G Phone Store
Unlimited free texts on selected tariffs
3G Forum
 
 

 

SFR Launch 3G

17th June , 2004

Europe : Having launched the first 3G offer in France for business customers on 12 May (the PC 3G card), SFR is continuing its gradual launch and has now confirmed that 3G will be marketed for commercial customers.

This first 3G commercial offer will initially be available exclusively to the SFR customers resident in three French metropolitan areas, from 16 June 2004 in Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, followed by five cities during July (Lille and Nantes).

SFR will be progressively extending the coverage of its UMTS network and more than 12 cities will be linked up by the end of 2004.

The 3G offer from SFR includes:

• A range of new services
The two major new features of the 3G offer are the video calling function and the viewing of video sequences.
Video calling allows the user to see the person they are talking to on their mobile screen and can also show this person their surroundings. The other major innovation is the direct viewing of videos on the mobile screen. SFR is already proposing 30 video programs customised for the mobile screen (news, music videos, film trailers,sports - see annex 1). SFR subscribers will also be able to continue sending high-quality, high-definition photos from their mobiles.

SFR also proposes new high-quality video games and CD quality ringtones.

3G also allows significantly faster navigation for Vodafone live services! And Gallery.

• One of the very first 3G mobiles, the Samsung SGH-Z105, will be offered at the launching price of 1 euro, for the first 5000 customers. Then it will be sold at 499 euros. This mobile integrates video calling function, video-filming and digital photos.
A second phone, the Sony Ericsson Z1010, will be available during July at a price of 499 euros.

• A range of four new SFR Pro 3G all-inclusive tariff models.

3G makes it possible to deliver a new, simplified tariff model to give customers complete control over usage:
- every communication link appears separately on an itemised bill based on the new SFR Pro 3G formulas (calls within France and internationally, as well as Texto and MMS text messages),
- unlimited access to the Vodafone live!™ mobile portal,
- all SFR Pro options are included,
- billing by the second with effect from the first second,
- As for SFR Perso and SFR Pro, 3G clients will continue to benefit from an additional 50% of time offered each month (which can be used for voice or video calls)

Four SFR Pro 3G all-inclusive tariff models from 46 euros for 3 hours of communication and 10 hours for 102 euros (see annex 2). This tariff models correspond to the SFR Pro offer billed by the second + 3 euros.

As part of the launch of these new arrangements, and to develop these new uses of 3G, SFR is offering 10 hours of video calls a month for the first six month period, 20 videos per month, 5 MMS post-cards per month and 50 MMS text messages for the first two months.

• For greater simplicity, SFR customers who subscribe to a SFR Pro 3G deal will retain their existing telephone number without needing a second line. A new SIM card operating on the two GSM/GPRS and UMTS networks will be sent to their home address.

• A 3G family & friends offer: to enable subscribers to obtain several sets of equipment in order to then make their first video calls, SFR is entitling its first 2,000 customers to assign the same access terms and conditions to their nearest and dearest.

• 3G coverage: to assure its customers of the best quality and reliability for the services on offer, SFR guarantees total continuity of service throughout France between areas with 3G coverage and areas still covered by 2G (GSM/GPRS).

From the month of June, SFR will allow its customers access to new 3G services in 6 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Greece and Japan then in another 12 countries in late 2004, thanks to the roaming agreements signed with mobile operators in the Vodafone group of companies.

A major new customer-focused service arrangement will be put in place, featuring:
• A dedicated customer service function,
• An after-sales mobile replacement service at the customer’s home within 48 hours,
• Support and demonstrations of 3G services in the “Espace SFR” shop on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, taking place every day of the week from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., as well as SFR 3G demo arrangements in the “Espace SFR” shops in Lyons and Toulouse.

By launching this 3G offer in the first instance for its main public customers from June 2004, SFR is underlining its ambition to be the benchmark operator for new uses of mobile telephony. SFR gets the support of Vodafone for the development of this new technology. Vodafone has already launched its public 3G offer in 6 countries (Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Japan) and 3G offer for business customers (PC Card) in 8 countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden).

TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES BELOW
All Material Subject to Copyright. All logos, graphics and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Visit 3G's Own 3G Mobile Store


Visit 3G's own 3G Mobile Store

Press Releases
SFR Launch 3G
Having launched the first 3G offer in France for business customers on 12 May (the PC 3G card), SFR is continuing its gradual launch and has now confirmed that 3G will be marketed for private customers.
3's 3G Video Talk Award
3's ground-breaking mobile package 'VideoTalk 750' has been voted best in the UK by the mobile industry.
3 New 3G FOMA Handsets
NTT DoCoMo announced that they will begin marketing "F900iT," "N900iS" and "P900iV," which are three new highly advanced FOMA handset models that are poised to bring unprecedented functionality to the 3G FOMA® 900i series.
Microbrowser Selected for New NEC 3G Handsets
ACCESS announced that its NetFront v3.0 microbrowser has been deployed in NEC's new e616, c616, e313 and c313 handsets for use on Hutchison 3G's W-CDMA network in Europe and Asia.
Broadcom Acquires 3G WCDMA Player
Broadcom Corporation announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Zyray Wireless Inc., a leading provider of baseband co-processors addressing WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) mobile devices.
Value Added Service for 3 3G Users
Good news for users of Motorola A925 video mobile phones, who can now view email attachments via this powerful handset while on the move.
3G Standards Alliance
The GSM Association and the TD-SCDMA Forum today signed an agreement to co-ordinate the development of the two 3G standards.
Mobile Phone TV Broadcast over DVB-H
The demonstration used the DVB-H standard because it is optimized for mobile, handheld receivers and supports the broadcast of a variety of digital content including television programs, interactive services and online content.
3G Video Streaming & Download Services
A wide range of value added services will be introduced to GPRS users on 2.5 and 3G networks during the course of 2004, including traffic monitoring, live music and TV channels
Smallest Walkie-Talkie Phone Available in North America
Nextel announced the availability of the Motorola i830; the smallest and most advanced walkie-talkie phone available in North America.
Vodafone 3G Launched In Netherlands
Vodafone Netherlands announce the commercial introduction of UMTS services on Vodafone live!, Vodafone's successful consumer service.
3G Network Upgrade for Vodafone
Alcatel has been selected by Vodafone Ireland, Ireland's leading mobile operator, to deploy a new optical transmission network, which will enable Vodafone to further support the increasing mobile communications requirements of its 1.8 million subscribers.
Revolutionary Mobile Wallet Service
NTT DoCoMo announced the July 2004 launch of the i-mode® FeliCa® Service for mobile wallet applications, which will be used in combination with the company's first four i-mode smart-card handsets
Sony GPRS / 3G Mobile Music Streaming Service
he service called StreamMan, has been developed by Sony Network Services and is the world's first personal mobile music service. StreamMan enables end-users to enjoy a large portfolio of songs from both major and independent record labels,
118 Million 3G Subscribers in China by 2008
With over 260 million mobile subscribers and more than 4 million new subscribers added every month in 2003, China is the largest cellular market in the world and a potential hotbed of 3G activities.