3GNewsroom.com Weekly Round Up and Comments
David Yuen - January 20, 2003
Our round up and comments of the past week's main stories from
our editor.
******** THIS WEEK ********
- Questions over Hutchison 3G launch in Italy
- In car 3G entertainment
- Singapore regulator cold hearted despite telecom slowdown
- DoCoMo to subsidise FOMA handsets
- Beta Telecom job bulletin board
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WIN/ 3G APPLICATION SUMMIT 2003
27, 28, 29 MAY 2003
HOTEL MARTINEZ, CANNES, FRANCE
The event is an exclusive summit that brings together senior level
executives from the leading organisations and senior representatives
from industry solution providers, making it the perfect event to
examine the key developments and issues currently relevant to the
industry.
http://www.win-summit.com
****************************
>>> Questions over Hutchison 3G launch in Italy
It has been reported that Hutchison will launch its long awaited
3G service, 3, this week in Italy. The Italian operator is to start
distributing 3G handsets to selected pre-registered users today.
Consumers that have not registered with 3 can expect handsets to
be available in retail outlets by the end of the month.
The launch looks promising with the Italian Prime Minister receiving
his own Italian 3 SIM card. Li Ka-shing, Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa,
personally presented the SIM card to the PM.
The operator has over 100,000 consumers that registered their interest
to subscribe to the 3G service.
But in a different report, Hutchison spokeswoman Laura Cheung said
the launch in Italy would not happen this week.
"We are not launching the 3G service next week ... it's an
incremental proceeding. There has been a bit of misunderstanding,"
she said.
She added that 333 VIP customers will start receiving their handsets
at the end of January while newly signed up users would start receiving
their handsets in February.
-- Hutchison prepares 3G launch for Italian users
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=story&articleId=
NEa0115318.9iw&verticalID=148&vertical=Industry+Trends
-- Hutchison Whampoa not launching 3G service in Italy next week
http://www.thefeature.com/index.jsp?url=article.jsp?pageid=28119
>>> In car 3G entertainment
The first 3G UMTS integrated car was presented in Asia Pacific
by Mercedes-Benz, NEC, Siemens mobile and SingTel Mobile.
The specially fitted Mercedes Benz S-Class includes 3G multimedia
services found on 3G handsets such as live video conferencing, email,
mobile Internet access and high speed video streaming. In addition,
the navigation system allows access to location guide and routing,
and traffic information with video support and uses up-to-date cartographic
data via UMTS for destination finding. Users can enjoy multimedia
content on a 15-inch monitor with an average transmission rate of
256 kbps.
Testing was conducted in Singapore's Central Business District
area, with SingTel providing the applications and content for the
3G-UMTS car showcase.
The idea of accessing 3G services from inside the car certainly
sounds exciting. Drivers can check their e-mail in the car and access
the Internet whenever they are stuck in traffic jams. They could
also download songs to listen inside the car. Passengers would no
longer worry about lengthy journeys when they can enjoy games and
video clips.
But the wealth of entertainment can be hazardous if drivers misuse
the system. The problems of driving and listening to the mobile
phone at the same time has been well documented. Some countries
in Europe are considering banning drivers from listening to mobile
phones (including those using handsfree). It is very tempting for
drivers to download music when they are bored and check email when
they are driving to save time. These can lead to drivers losing
concentration on the road and cause unwanted accidents.
The system will have its benefits. The navigation system will help
drivers find their destination and avoid traffic jams and users
can get information from the Internet when they are out of the office.
>>> Singapore regulator cold hearted despite telecom slowdown
Singapore operators will have to rollout a nationwide 3G network
by the end of 2004 despite operators lobbying the regulator for
a delay in the deadline. The Info-communications Development Authority
of Singapore (IDA) rejected the applications by StarHub and SingTel
to move back the nationwide rollout date.
The IDA has considered both applications thoroughly but does not
feel the reasons given, high setup costs and uncertain demand for
3G, by both operators were adequate enough to change the terms and
conditions. They also said the deadline was attainable and the decision
was final.
Even so, SingTel remains confident that they can achieve a nationwide
network by 2004. "We respect the IDA's decision. Even without
the extension, we remain fully confident of meeting the end-2004
deadline for a nationwide network," a SingTel spokeswoman said.
SingTel has said it would award equipment tender for its 3G network
by the middle of the year and aims to have 3G service in business
districts by the end of the year.
>>> DoCoMo to subsidise FOMA handsets
The Japanese cellular carrier NTT DoCoMo has said it will subsidise
3G handset developers. The list of hand manufacturers that is to
receive subsidies includes NEC, Fujitsu and Matsushita Electric
Industrial, but other manufacturers are expected to be included
in the future.
DoCoMo will pay handset developers half the cost of developing
each 3G model and has set aside 40 billion yen ($339 million) for
handset subsidies. The subsidies will give DoCoMo more say in 3G
handset development.
This is certainly good news for handset vendors as they are struggling
to recoup the cost of developing 3G handsets. The cost of developing
software and microprocessors for WCDMA phones can be 10 times more
than conventional handsets. DoCoMo's subsidies would allow manufacturers
to accelerate the development of handsets.
So far, FOMA handsets have suffered from short battery life and
a lack of handset models and now with the operator's bigger say
in handset design, hopefully more attractive handsets would be made
available to users. The price of handsets is expected to come down,
enabling them to be more affordable to consumers.
>>> Beta Telecom job bulletin board
Due to readers' requests, we have included a new section on Telecom
jobs. The beta version will be live for a month and users can find
jobs from around the world. If successful we will make the board
permanent. Users and their companies are welcomed to post available
telecom jobs for your company. Please inform your HR department
that they are welcomed to post any telecom jobs.
-- http://www.3gnewsroom.com/phorum-3.3.2a/index.php?f=8
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All comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to davidyuen@3gnewsroom.com
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