Posted by : Anonymous on Jul 04, 2004 - 10:15 PM General

ORANGE, Europe's third- largest mobile phone company, yesterday said it will launch its third-generation mobile phone service in the UK on July 19, and that it had chosen LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson to supply its first 3G handsets.
The group, which is the mobile phone unit of France Telecom, said the new service - which enables video messaging, web conferencing, live video and the ability to send emails with attachments - will be initially aimed at corporate and small business customers. The launch of general consumer 3G services is scheduled for September.

Orange also said it would begin selling 3G services in France - its other key market - in the autumn.

Mike Newnham, the group's vice-president of business solutions, yesterday claimed the quality of the company's 3G package and its extensive coverage across the UK would allow it to grab market share from competitors.

However, the company has lagged behind its rivals in bringing 3G to the market.

"For Orange, it is not a question of being early or late into the market. Orange is offering the best 3G coverage across the country, including Scotland, with a good pricing and excellent services," Newnham said.

"If you're a 3 user, you won't get nearly as good coverage, which is particularly important in some areas of Scotland, and if you're a Vodafone user, you'll find it difficult to get coverage anywhere."

Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa's 3 service was the first in Europe to start selling 3G phones when it launched services in March last year, and is so far the only 3G services available in the UK. At the end of May, Hutchison said it had signed up more than 1.7 million users.

Orange, which has invested more than (pounds) 5bn in launching 3G, will initially cover 66% of the UK population, but that it will increase coverage by the middle of next year to 80%.

Orange also said it would start selling its first 3G laptop data cards in the UK on July 19. Their transmission speeds are similar to those of broadband connections and are aimed at business users. Rivals Vodafone, mm02 and T-Mobile are already selling 3G laptop cards.