26/11/2004 - O2 delayed 3G roll-out

Extracts taken from Electronics Weekly - article written by Melanie Reynolds

Mobile phone operator O2 does not expect 3G to take-off as a mass market mobile service until the end of next year at the earliest.

Other UK operators are rolling out 3G services, but O2 believes there are still issues with handset cost and system reliability, and it said it does "not expect to see a mass market for 3G until late 2005".

O2 said there are still important issues to resolve such as; price, size and weight of handsets, seamless roaming, international roaming and reliability.

"When we introduce our 3G service we want it to provide a good customer experience," said O2.

Vodafone launched its 3G service this month and 3 has been operating since December 2002. Orange and T-Mobile are due to launch by the end of this year.

Powerwatch is of the opinion that 3G masts are more bio-active than GSM.