Above : Shows Canning Fok kicking off the unveiling ceremony of the NEC 616 and the introduction of 3 to Hong Kong.

ASIA : Hutchison Whampoa (HWL) marked an important development of 3 in Hong Kong by unveiling a range of exciting and innovative video mobile services made possible by the company's ground breaking 3G technology.

Above : Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa and Mr Akinobu Kanasugi, President of NEC Corp launching the latest video phone NEC 616. Full details of this phone HERE

3 will deliver to customers an integrated information, communication and entertainment service on its new generation of mobile phones, which also offer video calling and video messaging.

HWL Group Managing Director Canning Fok hailed the announcement as a breakthrough for the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong. He also welcomed it as a huge opportunity for people in Hong Kong to easily gather and share personal and professional information while on the move.

"What we are going to offer has not been seen here before, but it will become a part of your everyday life," Mr Fok said.

Mr Fok demonstrated the "3 Daily express" feature at a media conference. This feature is extremely easy-to-use, allowing customers to receive a host of information and entertainment services in video, delivered automatically throughout the day in the same way as they receive SMS. The services are so user-friendly that customers will have no difficulty in using them.

The services Mr Fok demonstrated include news, business information, weather details and traffic updates. He also displayed the "3 Home watch" service, which offers users with a high-quality and smooth live mobile video service showing what is happening at home via an installed web camera by calling in from anywhere in Hong Kong and overseas where there are 3 networks.

For the customers who are more interested in entertainment than business, 3 is offering them many more services such as the latest music videos, movie clips, football clips from the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A League, delivered through the video streaming capability of 3G technology.

Mr Fok demonstrated the "wow factor" of person-to-person video calling by linking up with Mr Kevin Russell, CEO of 3 Australia in Sydney.

Hong Kong's 3 customers will be able to make video calls to Australia, Austria, Italy, Japan, the UK, Sweden and Denmark, and the network of such countries is expanding rapidly.

Latest 3G video mobile phone from NEC

Hutchison and NEC also launched the latest NEC 616 video mobile phone, which will help revolutionize mobile telephony through 3G technology.

This is the new generation of 3G video mobile phones featuring a slim, cutting edge style, and is loaded with video and audio streaming, Global Positioning Satellite technology for enhanced location services, Bluetooth connectivity, memory card support, dual display and camera light.

"NEC is our supplier for both video mobile phones and the 3G radio network, and is also a shareholder in our 3 Hong Kong operations. Together with our joint venture partner NTT DoCoMo, we are very pleased to announce this important handset launch and most importantly to know that we share NEC's full support for the future," Mr Fok said.

NEC Corporation President Mr Akinobu Kanasugi said, "Hutchison and NEC have been sharing the same goals since we decided to pursue the 3G business together. NEC is pleased to introduce the new 3G video mobile phone. By the end of this month, we will be able to make available one million of the 616 video mobile phones to Hutchison, and by end of the first quarter of 2004, another 1.5 million, giving a total of 2.5 million. As a long-standing strategic partner, NEC will fully support and contribute to Hutchison's 3G operations with our competence and know-how in mobile internet, 3G video mobile phones and infrastructure technologies."

Details of 3 service offerings in Hong Kong

"We are very pleased that 3 Hong Kong can leverage on the resources of the global Hutchison 3G Group to be the first operator to bring these exciting mobile video services to Hong Kong. Deploying state-of-the-art technology, we will offer mobile video calling, video messaging, Webcall, real time high quality video service showing what is happening at home or showing the traffic condition, as well as a vast range of video infotainment services. All these services are provided in a very user-friendly manner and the content portfolio will continue to be enriched," said 3 Hong Kong Managing Director Mrs Agnes Nardi.

The NEC 616 video mobile phone will be available in Hong Kong at HK$3,980 each for a purchase of two sets or more. 3's tariffs will be simple and flexible. Tailored to meet the different usage patterns of customers, 3 is offering three basic plans. The monthly charges vary from HK$263 to HK$533. All tariff plans, which include video and voice minutes plus multimedia messaging and content, are designed to enable users to enjoy the entire range of 3 services. "3 Daily express" will be offered free of charge* and attractive offers for "3 Webcall" and "3 Home watch" will be provided to enhance user experience.

3 customers will also enjoy promotional offers including free** content consumption for the first two months including text and multimedia content download and streaming. In addition, free intra-network SMS will be offered for the first twelve months.