-- 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, Nov. 16 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- 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: "This is
the internet as it was meant to be and what people have been waiting for.
Mobile broadband is the natural next step for mobile services, extending the
full power of the internet to mobile handsets. By partnering with the leaders
of the internet and the leading handset makers, the X-Series from 3 will give
everyone access to more of what they want, when they want it, and however
much of it they want, all free when they use it."
Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said: "We
believe that giving our customers the benefit of the favourable economics of
the broadband world will lead more customers to join our network. That is the
proposition the 3 Group will be putting forward in all of its markets under
the X-Series. This is why we created 3, and what our network was designed to
deliver. The X-Series heralds important changes in the business model for
mobile media and internet. Moving away from unit charges will set mobile
users free to enjoy broadband services without fear of ‘bill-shock’."
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.(1)
Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype, said: "Over the last three years, Skype has
changed the way people communicate with one another. There are 136 million
Skype users today who are making free calls to other Skype users across the
world. With 3, I am very proud to say that for the first time, our users can
now try out making Skype calls on the move using a mobile phone. We always
want to delight our users by letting them try out new ways of keeping in
touch. This is a real milestone for Skype because now you can use Skype
beyond the PC, no matter where you happen to be."
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: "Working
together with 3 has enabled us to push the boundaries of TV viewing further
than ever before. 3 understands the power of mobile broadband to deliver
compelling, value-add applications and services like a truly personalised
mobile TV experience. We are thrilled to be working with them. The
availability of SlingPlayer Mobile for 3 customers is a major breakthrough in
mobile TV viewing. Customers can now view all the programmes they love to
watch at home whilst on the move via their mobile phone."
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: "3 Group
just gets it. They are the first mobile media company to give their customers
the freedom and choices to use the mobile Web the way it was intended to be
used. Who doesn’t want the freedom to control what digital media we enjoy,
when we enjoy it and where? That’s the type of media freedom Orb provides. 3
is not running away from the future, they are running towards it with open
arms, ripping down the wall around the garden and offering up the best Web
2.0 services to their customers."
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.(1)
Sharon Baylay, General Manager, Microsoft Online Services Group UK,
said: "We’re excited to be bringing one of Microsoft’s best of breed
communications services to 3’s network. Already, in the UK alone, 3 users
are having one million Windows Live Messenger conversations every day. These
are exciting numbers and mobile broadband will bring a rapid shift in the
delivery of internet services, and consumers’ usage of them. This
announcement shows Microsoft at the forefront of the mobile broadband
revolution and we will continue to roll out ‘anywhere access’ to our
leading web services."
Open Internet Access and Search
Customers will be able to search the internet without limitation from
their mobile using a Google(TM) 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.(1)
Terry Semel CEO of Yahoo said: "Approximately three billion people in the
world today are using mobile devices, and to have the ability to connect to
those three billion, with broadband capabilities, and allow them to take
advantage of Yahoo! Services on the go is a huge opportunity for both our
company and for 3."
Dominique Vidal, Regional Vice President & Managing Director of Yahoo!
Europe, said: "As the number of consumers accessing the Internet on their
Mobile devices continues to grow, creating and partnering to deliver
Innovative mobile communications services, personalised content and an
intuitive search experience is a key component to Yahoo!’s future success.
With the launch of broadband mobile Internet, 3 Group and Yahoo! can now
deliver the rich and personalised Internet experiences that consumers want on
the go."
Jim Holden, Director Wireless Strategic Partnerships, Google, said: "We
want people to be able to find useful information on the internet wherever
they are. 3 share this goal. Mobile search offers people the chance of a rich
internet experience on the go. Our agreement takes us a step further to
meeting this ambition."
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 Oistamo, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Phones,
Nokia, said: "We are firm believers that mobile convergence is the future of
mobility. With its wide array of features, the Nokia N73 multimedia computer
is simply ideal for this kind of innovative service. The X-Series from 3 will
be a great way for consumers to take full advantage of the devices’ great
features. We are proud to take part in the X-Series and we are most confident
that our customers will greatly benefit from this mobile broadband service."
Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson said: "Today’s sophisticated
consumers want complex services at their fingertips and our devices are the
physical touch-point between Internet services and the consumer. But
consumers don’t just want a functional device, they want something highly
individual. That’s what the W950i Walkman phone brings to the X-Series."
(1) Subject to international roaming limitations and fair use
restrictions.
Webcast of media event
A webcast of the media conference announcing the global launch of the X-
Series from 3 will be live from 10:30am GMT on 16th November 2006 and can be
viewed at: http://xseries.three.com/webcast .
Cantos Interview
Interviews with Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa
Limited, Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison Whampoa Limited,
Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype and Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President and
General Manager, Mobile Phones, Nokia, can be viewed at
http://www.cantos.com .
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 .
