3G
3G

3G

Hong Kong 3G Launch Set for January

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa said it will launch its 3G mobile telephone services in the territory next month. The company’s managing director Canning Fok did not give an exact date for the 3G services but announced details on pricing. The company set the price of new 3G handsets at 4,380 Hong Kong dollars (560 US dollars) and monthly subscription fees at 238-558 dollars, Fok told reporters. Hutchison will be the first operator to launch a 3G service in Hong Kong.

KDDI to Adopt Mobile FeliCa for 3G

In a decision that could be a huge boost for mobile phones to become e-wallets, KDDI has decided to adopt Sony Corp’s technology in smart cards for use in third-generation mobile phones that it will develop with Hitachi Ltd. This is wonderful news for chances of the evolution of the mobile phone’s morph into one of the so-called ubiquitous devices that Sony’s Idei has been promising for longer than hack journalists can remember. The news is out that KDDI has decided to adopt Sony’s FeliCa, thus removing a major barrier to the contact less IC card’s promulgation outside of DoCoMo in Japan, and also bringing the technology into a major cdma carrier.

EAccess to Join TD-CDMA 3G Services

EAccess Ltd applied on Dec 3 to Japan’s Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) for a license to build test stations for a mobile telecommunications service adopting TD-CDMA. EAccess, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) operator, aims to launch a wireless ADSL service specializing in data communications. The company has applied for several base stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

DoCoMo Pre-Christmas Press Briefing

DoCoMo Pre-Christmas Press BriefingDoCoMo Chieftain Tachikawa gave his final press conference of the year and looked happier and more relaxed than we’ve seen him for some time. And he should. After good first half financials and FOMA finally taking off, he was able to give a good spin on DoCoMo’s performance and managed to sling an arrow at Microsoft, as only a spin-off from a monopoly can! Japan’s phone market unexpectedly achieved solid 1H growth; net additions were almost the same 1H 03. 2H was down, but overall growth for DoCoMo will be 80 percent of 02. Japan’s phone market is NOT saturated. DoCoMo still thinks it will achieve 8 percent growth. Non-voice is growing, as well as voice. Japan’s penetration rate still lower than Europe. DoCoMo still sees growth opportunities. Full Program Run-time 20:24

M1 Awards Nokia 3G Deal

Mobile operator M1 of Singapore has awarded Nokia a contract to supply equipment and services for the second phase of its WCDMA 3G network rollout. In addition, the deal includes GSM/GPRS equipment to enhance GSM coverage and GPRS capacity. The deal follows successful rollout of Phase 1 WCDMA 3G network and continued GSM subscriber growth and increase demand in data traffic.