"I'm locked out a lot of content because I can only get access to what Hutchison makes available," said Schutte, who subscribes to Hutchison's 3 service.
Three weeks after the 3 service's Jan. 27 debut in Hong Kong, Hutchison slashed the lowest monthly subscription rate by a third and cut the price of new handsets to less than some phones that run on rivals' slower networks. The cheapest monthly package now costs HK$183, 10 percent less than the average Hong Kong mobile-phone subscription.
"The first six months will be tough," Chay said. "To build a critical mass will take at least two years."
Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc, which became the world's first phone company to provide 3G wireless services in October 2001, has succeeded after a slow start. Japan's biggest mobile-phone company took almost two years to sign up 1 million customers to its so-called FOMA service.
Other mobile-phone companies have delayed entering the market for high-speed services.
Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA, which led an industry-wide investment of more than US$100 billion in third-generation permits in Europe since 2000, have delayed introducing the service. Dutch carrier Royal KPN NV, the No. 3 operator in Germany, said it plans to start its 3G service there in the second half of this year.
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