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Seeing Business Opportunities in 3G

With the launch of 3G mobile communications services in Hong Kong, entrepreneurs have begun to exercise their imaginations on how to take advantage of new business opportunities that the technology has created

Hong Kong got its first taste of 3G (third-generation) mobile communications earlier this year with the launch of Hutchison Telecom's "3" video mobile service on January 27.

3G technology -- also known as UMTS - has the power to deliver a range of services that go far beyond the 2G and 2.5G phones that are currently the mainstay of mobile communications in Hong Kong. The most exciting of these is streaming multimedia services, which includes video calls.

With much greater bandwidth capacity, 3G provides easier integration into computing services as well as high-speed access to the Internet, providing users with almost unlimited access to video, voice, text and data. It offers users the ability to "be there" by being able to "see there" and in doing so opens up potentially a whole new world of services and products for businesses.

"We are very proud to be leading the local mobile industry into the 3G arena," says Agnes Nardi, Managing Director of 3 HK."This is the start of a communications revolution. We are talking about a new lifestyle."

Three other license-holders for 3G services in Hong Kong have not yet announced any clear date for when they will start to offer their 3G services, saying that they are working on building networks to allow a seamless handover from their existing 2G and 2.5G systems. They also point out that a few other issues, such as the variety of 3G phones available on the market and the life of their batteries need to be increased before seriously take the plunge.

3 HK currently offers a choice of three video mobile phone models targeting different market sectors and ranging in price from HK$998 for the NEC c313, HK$3,980 for the NEC c616 and HK$4,580 for the Motorola A925.

NECc313, for example, can be used for video calling, video/audio streaming, and is capable of sending video messages and text simultaneously. It also has an MP3 player and supports POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail protocol, memory card support, among other features. The NEC c616 is slightly more advanced that the NEC c313 and comes loaded with Global Positioning Satellite (AGPS) technology, Bluetooth connectivity, and dual cameras.

The powerful Motorola A925 contains industry-leading features that include video calling, MPEG4 video streaming, video messaging, MP3, a fully functional PDA and POP3 & IMAP4 e-mail access, 65K colour touch screen, among other features.

Just the Business

In the business arena, 3G offers businesses a lot of food for thought. The ability to conduct videocalls is an obvious advantage for business travellers, not only for video-conferencing with clients and colleagues but also to keep connected with family and friends.

Subscribers can keep up with news and financial information both at home and abroad, as well as use a "homewatch" service which allows users to keep a virtual eye on their home or office via a Web-cam.

The ability to transmit video clips will undoubtedly play a significant role in areas such as construction, retail, and even healthcare. Instead of visiting a construction site, an architect could view developments via a "3" video link with the site foreman. Or a real estate agent could show a potential buyer around a property without the need for the buyer to actually be there. The possibilities in this area are virtually limitless.

So-called "m-commerce" is another area with great potential. Sellers will be able to connect to buyers in myriad ways, making live, virtually-there online shopping a very exciting proposition. And it is only a matter of time before secure payment transactions are a routine operation.

Besides creating a whole new medium for news and entertainment providers, 3G also opens the door to new forms of advertising  and new sources of revenue for operators. In future, advertisers might pay the operator for the right to provide useful content to subscribers at no additional cost to the subscriber, in much the same way as they now sponsor TV shows.

With a new 3G network in place, Hong Kong has begun an exciting journey down the mobile information highway and entrepreneurs have begun to exercise their imaginations to take advantage of new business opportunities. Very interesting times lie ahead.