Spain will not roll out 3G until June 2002

date: April 25, 2001

Spain on Wednesday put back the rollout of third-generation (3G) mobile phone networks to June 2002 from August this year because equipment will not be ready, a day after Japan's NTT DoCoMo delayed its own launch.

Analysts and industry observers said they had expected Spain would have to bring its ambitious launch targets in line with other European countries.

The Science and Technology Ministry said it would wait until 3G services ``become a reality'' before deciding whether to offer two new GSM mobile phone licences, which would increase competition for existing operators like Telefonica Moviles and Airtel, controlled by Britain's Vodafone.

``This decision is not a blow to 3G but a signal Spain is paring down its ambitions and coming in line with the rest of Europe in terms of 3G,'' said Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein analyst Robert Grindle.

While DoCoMo said it wanted to do more tests to ensure a smooth launch for its 3G services -- which promise super-fast data transmission and high-quality video and audio from the Internet -- Spain said its decision was due to problems with the availability of handsets and equipment.

Science and Technology Minister Anna Birules said new operator Xfera, which last year won a 3G licence in Spain and whose shareholders include Vivendi , would in the meantime offer Internet services via its rivals' networks.

``Spain is not prepared to give up its target of developing an information society and developing mobile Internet services and doing it in a clear framework of competition which would not happen with three operators,'' Birules told reporters.

Jean-Marie Messier, head of Vivendi, said investors should not worry about short-term delays in rolling out UMTS.

``We may be wrong by three or six months about the exact date when UMTS handsets will be fully available, but that's not a problem,'' he told an e-commerce conference in Madrid. ``Broadband and other possible technologies are the trends of the decade.''

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