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Vodafone announces first 3G call
Tuesday, April 17 2001
by Tony O'Brien


Vodafone, the UK mobile service provider, claims to have made the UK's first live
voice call over its third generation (3G) network.

However, Vodafone admitted that commercial 3G services will not be launched until
the second half of next year.



According to the company the call was made on Monday from a prototype 3G mobile
phone over Vodafone's initial 3G network of 30 radio base stations in Thames
Valley.



3G phones, which include advanced features such as High Speed Data, Bluetooth
wireless technology and WAP, have long been promised by the mobile industry
however users have become somewhat inpatient in waiting for their arrival.



Problems with the devices and the infrastructure are said to be holding up the
long- awaited development.



Vodafone worked with Ericsson on the call and says it used one of six chosen 3G
handset manufacturers.



A progressive roll-out of Vodafone's 3G network has been underway since Autumn
2000 and it is anticipated that commercial 3G services will be launched in the
second half of 2002.



After the launch it is likely that major UK conurbations and transportation
routes will be the principal focus and by 2007, Vodafone hopes to have exceeded
its licence obligation of covering 80 percent of the UK's population.



Dual mode handsets (3G/GPRS) are key to delivering 3G services to customers and
Vodafone is working with number of manufacturers, such as Casio, Ericsson,
Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic and Siemens.



"Our commencement of the first 3G voice call marks yet another significant
milestone in the development of our multimedia services and forms part of our
rollout plans for 3G mobile," said Vodafone UK Chief Operating Officer, Gavin
Darby.



He said Vodafone had successfully launched its GPRS (General Packet Radio
Service) network on 02 April which provides customers with faster data speeds,
"always on" connectivity and greater cost effectiveness.



"The introduction of GPRS is an integral part of the evolution towards 3G,
enabling the development of Vodafone's 3G and GPRS services and applications,"
he said.



Darby added, "The advent of a new generation of mobile multimedia services will
enable our customers to live more of their lives through their mobile device and
we are delighted to be at the forefront of these developments."



Next month, the proposed acquisition of Eircell by Vodafone will be considered by
Eircom share holders in a meeting at the Point Depot in Dublin.