Christmas could be a crucial turning point for 3G
high-speed mobile phone services in Europe.
Around this time last year, only a handful of 3G operators
offered commercial service. This year, however, many new 3G
networks are online, handsets are noticeably smaller and battery
life has improved.
Several European 3G operators, including Orange, Vodafone and
Hutchison 3G UK, which operates under the 3 brand, are offering
highly subsidised handsets and bundled services consisting of cheap
voice minutes, text messages and 3G-specific applications, such as
video phone calls.
UK subsidiary Orange Personal Communications Services unveiled
new 3G handsets and services targeting British consumers.
One of the packages is a £30 12-month contract that offers a
range of phones from the Sanyo's S750 for free to the LG
Electronic's U8150 for nearly £120. Included in that package are
200 free voice minutes per month during business hours and another
200 minutes in the evening, as well as 60 free video telephony
minutes, 50Mbytes of downloaded data and 1,000 evening text
messages.
"We offer similarly attractive packages for GSM service but
these, of course, are without video telephony and high-speed
internet downloads," an Orange spokeswoman said.
A similar package was also launched by Orange's French
subsidiary.
Last month, rival Vodafone, Europe's largest mobile phone
company, launched its 3G consumer offering.
In the UK, the company is offering two basic 3G packages. The
£40 a month bundle offers 500 minutes of voice calls, 100 text
messages, 50 minutes of video calls and 60p for sending each
prerecorded video message. The £60-a-month bundle increases those
offers, for example, with 1,000 minutes of voice calls.
Vodafone is also offering a prepay option to encourage
first-time users to the service. In addition, the company is
charging 3G users only for downloaded content and not - as is the
case with GPRS users - for the time it takes to find and later
download the content.
Hutchison 3G, Europe's first commercial 3G operator, has been
aggressive on the price front from the very start.
"The operator has some very attractive packages for users
seeking cheap voice minutes, as well as all the other 3G services,"
said Neil Mawston, senior analyst with Strategy Analytics.
"Handsets are being subsidised dirt cheap, and the prepaid packages
offer good value."
New 3G technology allows operators to provide voice service more
cost efficiently, according to Mawston. "If the recent 3G
announcements are any indication, operators appear willing to pass
on savings to consumers," he said.
Voice is - and will remain - the killer application in 3G, as it
has been all along in second-generation GSM, according to
Mawston.
The big difference between the two voice services is that 3G
telephony could become a whole lot cheaper as operators use it to
lure consumers to other 3G premium services, he said.
For sure, hurdles still line the way to huge take-up of new 3G
services, such as video telephony. "
For a start, you need someone on the other end with a video
telephone to take advantage of the new service," said Carrie
Pawsey, wireless analyst at Ovum. "More 3G phones in the market
will certainly help create demand for this service."
Users can expect 3G phones sizes and batteries similar to those
of GSM phones by the second half of 2005, said Mawston.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service