DUBLIN, Ireland-During the next few weeks, third-generation (3G) mobile communications will take its first shaky steps in Europe, as the Isle of Man, population 75,000, prepares to become the unlikely setting for the world’s first commercial 3G service courtesy of BT Cellnet subsidiary Manx Telecom
The launch is scheduled for 15 May, although company officials admit this may slip by a few weeks.
With analysts questioning the revenue potential of next-generation mobile services, operators complaining about high license fees-even the European Commission is suggesting that refunds or longer payment schedules should be introduced-and financial institutions refusing to increase their debt exposure to potential service providers, this is one of the most important launches in mobile communications history.
Its proximity to the United Kingdom is just one reason the location was chosen, explained Mark Briers, director of Manx Telecom’s Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) program. “The island has its own government, so it was able to issue 3G licenses in early 1999, and while the coverage area is relatively small, it still contains a mixture of geographical conditions and population density,” said Briers.”We are going to learn some valuable lessons about what happens when you put 3G in the marketplace from a technology, marketing, customer service and pricing perspective. However, we do not expect the project to deliver all the answers to likely customer take-up or range of services.”
Briers is loath to put an exact value on the project in terms of reduced time to market or potential financial savings on larger-scale deployments. “However, I do know that we will have people with practical experience, design engineers and field engineers who have all gotten their hands dirty on the project, and that is very important,” he said.
Other companies involved in the project agree that it offers a unique learning experience. John Whelan of Alatto, a Dublin-based provider of 3G specialist services, describes it as a unique opportunity to work in a real 3G environment. “This work has really helped us to identify the boundaries of what the technology can and cannot do. It is all very well to experiment with concept devices, but it has been very refreshing to develop real applications using an actual 3G handset,” Whelan said.
One analyst described the trials as “part of the search for the answer to the
