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3G Xmas in the UK

7th October , 2004 by Kevin Thomas

Above shows an LG Electronics lady showing off the new 3G LG U8150 handset on its way to the UK ...

Europe : Even though we were expecting mass 3G handset mania last Xmas in the UK - will it happen this year ? At the moment your guess is as good as mine.

However, if we delve a bit deeper we may come up with a few predictions and some misguided ideas. Xmas is coming but will the 3G operators get fat ?

Lets look at the 5 operators in turn :

Vodafone

In September this year Vodafone released details of its forthcoming 3G handset range More Details Here. With a planned November launch of these handsets, Vodafone will be the second 3G operator to offer commercial 3G for phones in the UK.

The exact models and volumes which will be available at launch have not yet been confirmed. The phones themselves may only be available via direct Vodafone sales outlets ( Vodafone's high street shops and possibly its own website ).

I suspect the Vodafone Santa wagon will roll in time for Xmas but with limited 3G handsets and volumes. I hope I am wrong with regard to volumes.

3

The final Xmas where 3 have a greenfield playing field to offer volume 3G phones. Are they looking to get fat this Christmas. Too right they are. Expect a huge Xmas advertising campaign ( maybe as much as tens of millions of pounds ) pushing their new 3G handsets.

3 recently showed new Moto, NEC and LG handsets to dealers in the UK and these will spearhead the Xmas attack.

It is likely that even better deals for customers will be around this Xmas. The best offer I can think of is Buy 1 Get 1 Free - both with 50% discounted monthly rates. Now that would make for a good Xmas.

Orange

Orange issued details of their intended commercial launch of 3G for phones back in July 2004. More Details Here

At that time , Orange confirmed they will be launching next generation handsets and services in the UK and France later in the year, with SonyEricsson and LG announced as its first 3G handset vendors.

Recently, LG Electronics confirmed they would be teaming up with Orange – to launch the 3G LG U8150 handset. More Details Here

I suspect Orange must launch 3G for phones this year, so I expect a soft-launch with less than 50K handsets.

O2

O2 are keeping a low profile about exactly when they will launch 3G for phones. Of course, O2 announced the launch of the UK’s first integrated mobile business solution to incorporate 3G, Wireless LAN (WLAN) and GPRS back in September,2004, “O2 Connection Manager” is a simple, intuitive interface that enables the user to connect to whichever of the three wireless networks is most appropriate through O2’s integrated Data Card.

I suspect o2 will play a waiting game and go with commercial launch for 3G phones in 2005.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile announced that their 3G services were live in February, 2004. Details Here .

At that time, Brian McBride, Managing Director of T-Mobile UK, said: "The switch to 3G is not just a matter of speed, it's equivalent to the move from the typewriter to the PC". I suspect T-Mobile will simply follow the rest.

Xmas is coming who will get fat ?. Make your own predictions at 3G Forum

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