Hutchison 3G services debut as Telecom readies 027 plan

By PETER GRIFFIN

Third generation mobile phones finally came to Australasia yesterday with the launch of Australian telco Hutchison's "3" service and evidence the company has radically changed mobile pricing models.

New Zealand's Telecom has A$400 million invested for a 19.9 per cent stake in 3 - Hutchison Telecom's 3G business - and plans to release many of 3's services on its own 027 network in three to six months.

Telecom's manager of strategic opportunities, Mickey Szikszai, said services available to early subscribers of 3, such as mobile games, would become accessible to 300,000 Telecom 027 customers on their existing phones.

"They'll run on our network either slightly modified or not modified at all," he said.

The technical superiority of Hutchison's 3G network meant video conferencing between phones was possible for the first time - Telecom's 027 network could handle video messaging for users of high-end phones and trials of a service had taken place. But video conferencing was harder to do.

"With person to person video conferencing there's a lot more technical work we have to do," said Szikszai.

Telecom is likely to brand any services taken from Hutchison with the Xtra label. However, it has the right to use the 3 branding locally.

Hutchison lived up to the expectation of 3 providing strong price competition in the voice market. Users of 3, which initially is available only in Sydney and Melbourne, can make unlimited voice calls for a maximum A$99 a month.

Calls to national mobiles and landlines are charged at 15Ac per 30 seconds with a 25Ac flagfall.

SMS messages will cost 15Ac, picture messages, 25Ac, and video messages, 50Ac. Email is free until the end of the year, after which sending an email will cost 10Ac.

Videotalk is more expensive - 50Ac per 30 seconds within the country, 85Ac per 30 seconds for international calls. Free credit for video calls will be available each month. News, sport, weather or mapping content will have a monthly fee cap of A$25 - subject to "fair use" policies.

Handsets from NEC and Motorola sell for between A$480 and A$912.

With around A$3 billion invested in its Australia 3G strategy, Hutchison is looking to make rapid gains with its new services against competition from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, all of which have heavily marketed their own 2.5G services in anticipation of 3's launch.

Hutchison is 58 per cent owned by Hong Kong-baseds Hutchison Whampoa.

3 Australia