Hutchison
orders two million 3G video devices from NECNEC
agreement marks next milestone in rollout of services under the '3'
brand23 October 2002  Hutchison
today announced an agreement with NEC Corporation (NEC) to increase
its November 2001 order of third generation (3G) video devices for
the Hutchison's 3G companies worldwide from one million to two million
NEC video devices. Hutchison and NEC have been working together since
April 2001, and this order cements NEC's relationship with Hutchison
as a key partner in the rollout of 3G services under the 3
brand world-wide. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
All
the devices ordered from NEC are dual-mode, while the additional one
million devices in this latest contract feature advanced messaging
capabilities for both business and personal communication. Dual-mode
devices enable consumers to benefit from rich multimedia services such
as person-to-person video when accessing the 3G platform, but also
allow the use of all 2Gservices when roaming beyond a 3G-enabled area.
In August 2001 Hutchison announced that
NEC would be its preferred supplier of 3G devices, and this month,
NEC began delivery of 1000 3G devices to Hutchison's 3G operations
in the UK and Italy for use in the Hutchison friendly user trial. NEC
is also supporting Hutchison's network infrastructure rollout in the
UK, in line with the announcement in April 2001 by Hutchison 3G UK.
The new devices in this contract are the first
of their kind for NEC and have been created following extensive consumer
research. They offer a range of customer-friendly attributes such as
computer-style keyboards, built-in cameras and significantly larger
colour screens, which let customers experience 3G services to their
fullest: mobile communication, Internet and audiovisual features all
in one. The devices include a substantial memory of up to 64MB, built-in
Java functions and purpose-built software. Canning
Fok, Group Managing Director of The Hutchison Whampoa Group, said:
"We have just begun the first phase of our rollout of these exciting
services. Our close relationship with NEC, combined with their considerable
expertise in 3G technologies, is proving invaluable. 3
will offer consumers full-motion video over a wide selection of high
quality devices."
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