3's press release
3 Group, in Partnership with Skype, Sling Media, Yahoo!, Nokia, Google, eBay, Microsoft, Orb and Sony Ericsson, unleashes the true power of broadband internet over the mobile
London – 16 November 2006 - Hutchison Whampoa Limited today announced the global launch of the X-Series from 3. The X-Series from 3 marks the beginning of the internet via mobile broadband, and heralds a new way of doing business for mobile network operators. It will extend several of the core applications and uses of the broadband internet to the mobile handset, with a new pricing model. The X-Series from 3 will be supported by the leading internet companies, cutting-edge handsets from the world’s leading mobile manufacturers and premium customer service.
Customers will be able to make unlimited calls from their mobile using Skype, watch their home television via their mobile using Sling, access their home PC remotely using Orb and have access to the best of internet and messaging services from Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger and Google.
The X-Series from 3 will be priced like fixed line broadband. It will offer use of mobile internet services free at the time of use, for a flat fee. The X-Series from 3 will be available in the UK from the 1st December 2006 and in 3’s other markets around the world in early 2007. Each 3 company will provide further details as they launch X-Series in their markets.
Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said:
Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said:
The X-Series from 3
The X-Series from 3 will allow people to communicate, find information and be entertained in ways they have never been able to do before using a mobile handset.
With X-Series, the 3 Group is sharing the power of mobile broadband with its internet partners and above all, with its customers who will get more of what they want, when they want it, how they want it, and without fear of hidden charges every step of the way at the point of use.
At today’s launch presentation the 3 Group announced global partnerships with major internet brands Sling Media, Orb and Google. These partnerships build on global agreements announced earlier this year with Skype, Microsoft and Yahoo!
New Charging Structure
X-Series customers will be charged flat access fees for X-Series mobile broadband services on top of their basic subscription. The access fees will include all you can Skype, all you can chat by instant text message and all you can search and browse. There will initially be an additional access fee for customers who also take higher-bandwidth services like Sling and Orb. Just like the fixed line internet, all X-Series services will be free at the point of use, subject only to fair usage limits.
The X-Series will lay the foundations for the mobile broadband charging models of the future. The broadband internet is based on a completely different economic model than that of most mobile operators today. As internet and media technologies have evolved, customers are able to do more at less cost. Customers in the future will be attracted by greater and greater choice, and higher and higher usage levels, for fair, attractive and transparent access fees.
This charging structure overturns the traditional telephony model of charging per minute, per message, per click, per event and per megabyte. This is made possible by the rapid development of all IP (internet protocol) mobile networks, HSDPA and HSUPA network speed upgrades, peer-to-peer technologies, and a number of efficiency improvements in every aspect of a mobile operator’s business. As a result, the cost of providing broadband internet and media applications in mobility may be expected to continue to decline, as it has in the internet and fixed-line broadband world.
Voice
An X-Series customer will be able to make and receive unlimited Skype calls with Skype PC users anywhere in the world, and to any other Skype 3 mobile customer. Skype to Skype calls on a 3 mobile will be free.*
* Subject to international roaming limitations and fair use restrictions.
Niklas Zennström, CEO, Skype, said:
Your TV where you are
An X-Series customer who purchases a Slingbox will be able to watch anything they are able to watch on their own TV, including their terrestrial TV, Freeview, cable, and satellite TV, at the same time, on their mobile. Slingbox will also let X-Series customers control their home personal video recorder (PVR) to watch shows they have recorded, pause and rewind live TV, or even queue a recording when away from home using their mobile.
Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media, said:
Your PC where you are
Using Orb means people can access the digital content that they have stored on their PC at home, including music files, playlists, digital photos and videos, on their X-Series handset. Orb has specifically designed a user interface for X-Series handsets, which will ensure the X-Series customers taking Orb will receive the best user experience.
Joe Costello, Chairman and co-founder of Orb Networks, said:
Messaging
X-Series from 3 will offer customers text instant messages, to or from Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger, to another X-Series handset, or a PC. Sending and receiving text instant messages with an X-Series mobile will be free.*
Sharon Baylay, General Manager, Microsoft Online Services Group UK, said:
Open Internet Access and Search
Customers will be able to search the internet without limitation from their mobile using a Google or Yahoo search engine, depending on their choice and the search services available in their country. Searching and browsing the internet on mobile will be free.*
Terry Semel CEO of Yahoo said:
Dominique Vidal, Regional Vice President & Managing Director of Yahoo! Europe, said:
Jim Holden, Director Wireless Strategic Partnerships, Google, said:
The best Internet shopping with eBay
X-Series customers will be able to shop on eBay real-time. Searching and browsing and bidding will be free. This will give eBay users with access to 3 the ability to enjoy enhanced opportunities to buy and sell on the go and not just in front of their PCs. With 3 and X-Series, eBay sellers and buyers will be able to stay connected to one another when and where they want.
Cutting Edge Handsets
The global launch of the X-Series from 3 is being made possible by the first two handsets that will support this full range of services: the Nokia N73 and the Sony Ericsson W950i.
Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Phones, Nokia, said:
Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson said:
About 3 Group
A division of Hutchison Whampoa, the 3 Group together with Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited, is the leading global player in the 3G arena, holding licences in 11 markets with total population coverage of approximately 175 million.
In just three years, the 3 Group has built an entirely new mobile broadband network, achieving probably the fastest rollout of a radio network in the entire telecom industry. Marketed globally under the 3 brand, the 3 Group was the first operator in the world to provide dual-mode 3G services.
To date, commercial 3G services have been launched in Italy, the UK, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel and Ireland. Hutchison announced more than 13.5 million customers in August 2006.
For more information about 3, please visit http://www.three.com.
For more information on the X-Series from 3 please visit http://xseries.three.com.
Cantos Interview
Interviews with Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, Niklas Zennström, CEO, Skype and Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Phones, Nokia, can be viewed at http://www.cantos.com.