Orange opens its 3G in UK — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Five years after first testing} Orange opens its 3G in UK

1 Jul 2004 at 13:17 GMT Timo Poropudas

A full five years after testing its first 3G services in UK, Orange will launch its third generation mobile network in the UK. The mobile arm of the France Telecom Group says that on the 19th July it will cover two thirds of the British population with its new 2.5G/3G network. Yet, the 3G data transmission speeds will only be available to Orange customers in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast, Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds. The operator is busy developing business services for its 3G network. It is staring out, like its competitors have done, with 3G Mobile Office Card. Orange say that over 500 individual users at 60 corporate accounts have been trialing the service in the UK. The cards cost only GBP 85 and the cost of monthly service will be around GBP 75. 3G handsets for its services will be available later in the summer at least from SonyEricsson and LG. After the UK, Orange plans to launch 3G services in its home market of France in the fall of this year. Orange’s launch announcement comes hot on the heels of Vodafone’s statement last month that it is to begin offering UMTS services in the Netherlands and France. Vodafone Live! has already been launched via UMTS in Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal.