3G launches stumble a bit
 
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There were a couple of high-profile missteps recently in the world of 3G, meaning possible delays in the arrival of " third-generation " wireless phone technology.
In England, British Telecommunications recently suffered a setback when its mobile phones failed to work at a high-profile relaunch. According to the Financial Times, during a glitzy ceremony by BT's Cellnet subsidiary, three successive Internet-enabled phones refused to connect to any Web sites because of a series of network and handset problems. On the fourth attempt, Cellnet was able to demonstrate one phone's ability to access basic news and information sites. But the other handsets were recalled and deemed faulty. The handsets were supposed to be demonstrating the new General Packet Radio Switching (GPRS) technology.
Meanwhile, in Japan, NTT DoCoMo announced it was postponing its launch of 3G services for at least four more months while it works out " handover " problems. The problems include difficulties in maintaining connections when customers move between radio base stations.
This means that the " race " to 3G is a little tighter, as Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless are still planning to launch their version of 3G by year-end. Although CDMA-1X is considered a first step in the road to 3G, technically it is considered a 3G service. If everything works as planned, wouldn't it be ironic if the U.S. was the first to launch a 3G service?
Finally, Cahners' In-Stat Group is predicting less-than-stellar short-term prospects for wireless 3G services. In a recent report, the firm says, " short-term prospects for the technology that enables video calls, high-speed Internet access, multimedia and other features are 'bleak.' "
In-Stat predicted that the Japanese market will be the first to widely deploy 3G services, but it will not have nationwide coverage until late 2002.
The group also predicted that despite European commitments to early 3G deployment, it will be mid-2003 before even moderate subscriber intake occurs.
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Keith Shaw is Reviews Editor at Network World. In addition, he writes the "Cool Tools" column, which looks at gizmos, gadgets and other mobile computing devices.
You can reach Keith at kshaw@nww.com.
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