Orange plan early 3G move

June 30, 2004

Orange will Thursday bring forward plans for launch of its high-speed 3G video phones. News agency Reuters reported the company will announce its 3G strategy and details of its 3G network and handset vendors.

Company sources also said Orange would bring forward its launch of 3G phones.

In February, Orange announced 3G trials of the its networks in the UK and France, and its aim to provide commercial service in the second half of this year.

Orange tested it 3G network with phones from vendors such as South Korea's LG and US's Motorola. Both LG and Motorola are handset suppliers for Hutchison 3G, the first operator in Europe to launch 3G services in March 2003.

Orange along with many operators had delayed the launch of 3G services because of a lack of good quality handsets. Early 3G handsets were very large compared to 2G mobile phones and battery life were disappointingly short.

Rivals Vodafone recently launched 3G services in a number of European countries with the Samsung Z105 and SonyEricsson Z1010 handsets. It is also offering international videotelephony between its customers.