The Belgian government has postponed the launch of third generation
mobile phone services by a year because neither the network or the
handsets are ready yet.
The government was planning to launch the new service in September
but the three companies with Belgian 3G mobile phone licences
requested more time late last month.
"The 3G network isn't there yet, the machines aren't ready, so the
minister agreed to a delay," said Regine Van Tomme, a spokeswoman
for telecom minister Rik Daems.
Holding licences to operate the services are France Telecom's
Belgian mobile division Mobistar, the former state monopoly
Belgacom and Vodafone Group's Proximus, and Dutch operator KPN
Orange's Belgian unit of the same name. Together they spent £277m
last year buying their licences. A fourth licence remains
unsold.
"We are satisfied that we now have a year more to build the
network," said Jean-Luc Van Kerckhoven, spokesman for Proximus. "If
we had to launch this in September then 3G would have been a
disappointment. With an extra year we will be able to make it a
real commercial launch."
"It is wise to take more time and get it right," he added. Swedish
mobile operators last month became the first in Europe to open
their 3G networks, but their effort was symbolic as they still
aren't offering any services.
The 3G technology will provide services such as high-speed Internet
connections and video downloads to mobile phones.
The few 3G handsets on the market come from Asia. NEC supplies NTT
DoCoMo's limited service in Japan. But European manufacturers won't
begin catching up until later this year. Finland's Nokia plans to
start shipping 3G handsets in the third quarter of this year, with
volume deliveries beginning in the fourth quarter, said Nokia
spokesman Tapio Hedman.
Delays in the construction of the network have partly been due to
regional governments' reluctance to permit the installation of
radio masts. The phone companies with Belgian 3G licences
threatened to sue the governments of Wallonia, Flanders and
Brussels last November.
Van Tomme said the problem with local governments is almost
overcome. "The talks are going smoothly. We will find a solution
for the whole country very soon," she said.