According to a report from AFX News, the company [Hutchison] is beginning trials of NEC dual-mode handsets this week by testing the new phones with around 1,000 ‘friendly users’. The second phase of the launch is due in November and will involve around 10,000 users, while the company expects to have been shipped approximately 100,000 handsets by the end of the year, by which time it will have its first paying customers.
Despite being a new entrant in both the UK and Italy, the Hong Kong-based operator is expecting big things from its UMTS services. Matt Peacock, Hutchison 3G’s spokesman in the UK, told AFX: “We are on course with our phased rollout; if that goes according to plan we have said that we could have up to one million customers in the UK and another million in Italy.”
Hutchison is introducing 3G services under the brand name ‘3’ and says it is planning a phased rollout rather than a full-on launch. It is expected to announce its 3G tariffs in the next few weeks and other operators will no doubt be keeping a close watch on how customers respond to Europe’s first next-generation services.