3G doubtful for Peoples in 2005

March 28, 2005

Hong Kong's Peoples Telephone is unlikely to offer 3G mobile services through a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) this year because of a lack of consumer interest.

"We aren't overlooking 3G technology, but we need to see the demand for it and for the services to be proven profitable," said Peoples Executive Vice Chairman Michael Leung.

"At this point, we can't foresee when those conditions will be met," he added.

Peoples does not own a 3G license but the company has indicated it intends to lease 3G capacity from the four 3G license holders and offer high-speed mobile service as a MVNO.

The operator is currently offering EDGE services, a short-term solution for providing data services at higher speeds.

At the end of 2004, Peoples had 1.13 million subscribers.