TRYING TIMES IN THE WORLD OF 3G
by Nicki Hayes, April 23, 2001
So far this month it’s been mainly a time for trials in the 3G world. While Vodafone and Ericsson
conducted the UK’s first ever 3G voice call, or so it claimed, Sprint and Lucent conducted the US’s
fastest ever 3G data call. Both of these have been heralded as important steps in next generation mobile
service by the media. The fact that such trials are attracting so much media interest says more about the
industry than the trials themselves, reports Nicki Hayes, WDN’s European correspondent.
Earlier this month Vodafone announced that it had made the first live voice call over a 3G mobile network
in the UK in conjunction with Ericsson. The call took place over Vodafone’s initial 30 base stations in the
Thames Valley region around its Newbury headquarters. Details of the speed or the content of the call were
not made available.
Just 12 days earlier Sprint and Lucent Technologies completed the fastest ever 3G over-the-air data call for
a US mobile wireless carrier. The call reached a speed of 2.4mbps, fast enough to make the delivery of
applications such as streaming video and media a reality.
The media reacted pretty quickly with coverage of these two stories, but, sadly for Vodafone, this ‘historic’
moment left its competitors and the market pretty unmoved. Shares dipped 6.75 UK pence to 209.25 pence
as investors seemed more concerned about an earnings downgrade issued by Deutsche Bank and
Vodafone’s key rivals, Orange and BT, both said they’d already made their own 3G test calls, Orange as far
back as June and BT last month.
So why did we not hear about these trials at the time?
Because in a normal market news that a mobile phone call has been successfully made over a new network
is not news at all. Think about it, the UK trial was of voice data, not even text, let alone the promised music
and video content. Yet still this transmission was widely reported on. Why?
The fact is that in a saturated market where too many big players are relying on the future of 3G, even
though it’s looking decidedly fragile, any news is good news. For one, a massive number of new masts are
needed to get the service running, masts that nobody wants near where they live and masts that cost big
bucks. The 3G licence owners who will be shelling out for these have already paid ludicrous sums for the
licences that give them the right to run the services in the first place and are looking increasingly strapped
for cash. This aside, with strict guidelines on countryside access in the UK and many other European
countries, thanks to the foot and mouth crisis, yet another delay in erecting these masts has been
introduced. In such an atmosphere, any news is welcome!
It does seem ironical though that the US, who are at the back of the queue when it comes to rolling out 3G
services (e.t.a. 2003/4), are already trialing real 3G data services, while the UK, which aims to rollout 3G
next year, has only just trialed voice services. Given that The Isle of Man - that small island nestling off the
north west of Great Britain, known chiefly for its tax free status, cats and motor racing circuit - looks set to
follow Japan with its 3G rollout in the next quarter, it would be nice to see evidence that the technology is
here for data-based services too. But don’t worry, as soon as there’s any news, you’re sure to hear!
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About the author:
Nicki Hayes is a freelance writer and corporate communications consultant specialising in business to business internet issues. She has contributed editorial to a number of publications including Unstrung.com, Guardian Online, Financial Times, Banking & Financial Training, eAI Journal and Secure Computing. Nicki is also the European correspondent for The Wireless Developer Network. Nicki is based in Dublin, Ireland and also has a base in Cambridge, UK. Through her consultancy, Hayes-Singh Associates, she has access to a number of technical writers and PR consultants throughout Ireland and the UK.
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