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EU starts up 3G services

After years of anticipation, the much-hyped third-generation (3G) mobile telephone services were launched in Europe Monday, with not so much a bang as a whimper.

Hutchison 3G, controlled by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, became the first operator in Britain to go ahead with a commercial launch of the new services, whose success are vital for the mobile telephone industry.

Yet there were no handsets in the company's three flag-ship high-street stores for customers to take home, nor in the dozen of independent retailers across that countries where the new product will be on offer.

3G, the common name for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) services, offers high-speed Internet access, advanced games and the ability to send and receive colour photos and video clips.

While Hutchison has been advertising the imminent arrival of 3G for weeks, it has not been actively plugging Monday's launch date, amid worries that the reputation of the service could be damaged if its long awaited debut goes awry.

Potential customers can test out the new equipment, marketed by Hutchison under the brandname "3", in the company's stores and the outlets of independent retailers such as Dixons and Carphone Warehouse.

But for now, technophiles must put their name on a list and wait.
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