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Vodafone goes for 3G in Europe
June 21, 2004
In February, 3G PC cards were launched in eight European countries, targeting business users with a service called Mobile Connect. The card fits into a laptop computer and enables high-speed data transfer without the use of cables or the trouble of finding a wireless LAN hotspot.
Jens Kürten, spokesperson for Vodafone Germany, says: "There were both practical and strategic reasons to start with PC cards. The practical consideration was that there were not enough handsets to launch 3G end-user services, while on the strategic side we wanted to show that 3G is not only about fancy applications for teenagers but is also useful for business."
The service was very well received, with trials showing customers found the service easy to install and use.
Vodafone's Mobile Connect customers can choose to pay a tariff based on data volume or on time. Somewhat surprisingly, enterprises seem to prefer the time-based tariff.
"We always thought that volume would be the best way of pricing data services, but the feedback we've received shows that customers feel they have better control of their costs if they are charged by the minute," Kürten says.
A full range of 3G end-user services was then introduced in early May.
Vodafone's 3G network in Germany covers all major centers of population and supports all kinds of 3G services, including video streaming and video download. But promotion of 3G services has been deliberately low scale with no major campaign. So far, the operator offers only one phone model, Samsung's Z105. Vodafone has chosen to wait until four more phone models become available in the autumn.
"In Germany we have chosen to use UMTS, the European Union's name for WCDMA, as a kind of brand name for the service," Kürten says. "More people in Germany know what UMTS is, while 3G is seen as 'expert' talk. But most Vodafone markets use the term 3G."
With the service only recently launched, Kürten has no 3G-subscriber figures. "But everything we get, we sell," he says.
Kürten is confident about the future of 3G. "First, we know that these things take time," he says. "We launched our GPRS data-service portal, Vodafone Live, 18 months ago and we have valuable experience from that. Now we have 2.5 million users, about 10 percent of our total subscriber base. Secondly, we learned from the SMS experience that you never know which application will be the big hit. It could be MMS, video downloads, location-based services or something completely different."
"What we are sure of is that the growth potential in our business lies with data services and 3G, and if we want to remain a big player we have to invest in WCDMA. There is no alternative."
