Europe : 3, the Mobile Video Company of the Italian market, launches Tua, the first prepaid offer that includes a videophone. Forever.

Inset is Chief Executive Officer of 3 Italy, Vincenzo Novari who is quoted below.

A videophone will be given to Tua customers to use free of charge, that 3 will substitute periodically with a new model from the catalogue, without any added cost.

In addition to the free use of a videophone, it will be possible to have exclusive access to the Tua tariff plans (prepaid or contract) that include attractive tariffs and a charge of 30 € only in the case where a Tua customer does not reach the threshold of 30€ of telephone traffic and services in a calendar month.

To avoid this charge, still within a calendar month, Tua customers must also receive a minimum of 60 minutes of voice calls and videocalls,

To join in on the offer, it is necessary simply to pay "a one time only" sign-up fee to a 3 retailer (on promotion for 99 € until the end of October) and be the holder of a credit card.

"This system of offer abolishes one of the last dogmas of mobile communication in our country: the fact that one must pay for a cellular phone". Tua is a true revolution - explained the Chief Executive Officer of 3, Vincenzo Novari - that will allow Italians to enter en mass into the world of third generation services".

There are four different options available: in addition to the prepaid Tua 30, there is also Tua Club, a subscription formula carrying the same conditions.

The prepaid Tua 0 and the subscription model Tua Cash, instead are formulas reserved for those who prefer to purchase the videophone outright: in this case, there is no monthly quota and no periodic substitution of the videophone, but by reaching 30 € threshold of traffic and services in a month, the customer will receive an automatic top up of 30 € or a discount of 30 € on his telephone bill.

The tariffs (VAT included) are identical for all Tua options: voice calls cost 15 c. € per minute towards 3 numbers and a fixed rate of 30 c. € per minute towards the other national mobile operators, while for Videocalls towards 3 customers and webcams one pays 45 c. € per minute, which is a good 10 c. less than the previous tariff! A setup cost of 15 c. € is applied to all voice calls and Videocalls.

SMS and Videomessages (MMS) cost 15 c. € and 55 c. € each respectively.

The cost of the Fast Mobile Modem service that allows you to navigate on the Internet has been reduced from 0,6 to 0,4 c./kb (plus the 60 c. € connection fee) and 9 c. € for each charged page on the 3 portal.

E-mail service is free until the 30th of November 2003.

All the Tua options will be available from the 23 of September: customers will be given a 3 USIM functional in their 2G telephone until the delivery of their chosen videophone. This delivery is planned for the next weeks; the success of the summer promotion - 300 thousand total customers as of August 20th - has caused an early stock shortage of 3 videophones.

In the next weeks, in fact, the Nec e616 and the Motorola A835 will arrive to completely update the 3 product portfolio.

Among the most important innovations are the striking Videocalls and Videomessages in high resolution, AGPS for location based services, the GPRS functionality and the integrated speaker phone.

In particular, the Nec e616 (weighing only 131 grams) offers a double display and incorporates - a world preview - an illumination system that allows for optimum video capture even in the evening, while the Motorola A835 (weighing 168 grams) allows the user to activate a videocall, take a photo and capture a video simply by pressing a single dedicated key.

For those that opt for the Tua 0 or Tua Cash formula, the price of the videophone will be on promotion until the 31st of October at 495 euro for the Nec e616 and 395 euro for the Motorola A835.

With only 150 euro more, and on the condition that at least one number is ported before October 31st, Tua 0 and Tua Cash customers can have a second videophone, or in other words two Nec e616 for 645 euro or two Motorola A835 for 545 euro.

The "teaser" television campaign featuring Malika El Hazzazi, Luana Spagnolo and Alexandra Merino will be on air from the 21st of September followed by the release of three new commercials on the 28th of September, made particularly special by the participation of Carla Fracci, Roberto Baggio and Antonio Zichichi.

The advertising campaign also comprised by print, billboard and Internet is valued at 40 million euro and will run until the end of 2003.

A curiosity: for the first time, a mobile communication offer is inspired by the title of a novel: "Io sono Tua" or "I am Yours", by Massimo Lolli, father of the new trend of office-romance fiction.

3 - Is the commercial brand of H3G, the mobile video company in the Italian market. After having won the UMTS license in Italy in November 2000, with the offer of 3,25 billion euros, 3 launched its service at the beginning of March 2003 and aimed for the leadership of the third generation mobile market. Among its shareholders are prominent leaders in Italy and the world, from the sectors of telecommunications, the Internet and new media, publishing and finance. Hutchison Whampoa Limited is the primary shareholder 88,67% of the authorized capital. The other shareholders include CIR, S. Paolo Imi, BMI, RCS Mediagroup, Gemina and Tiscali.