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Two Million 3G Customers for 3

29th November , 2004

Europe : 3, the Italian Mobile Video Company of the Hutchison Whampoa Group, the first to launch UMTS services in Italy and in the world, announces today that they have reached 2,000,000 customers.

- Number of customers doubled in only 4 months
- Over 238 million downloads from launch to today
- 76% surge of content downloads since July 2004
- 3's UMTS services available to almost 40M Italians

In the last 8 months the increase has been exponential: 500,000 clients in March 2004, then 1,000,000 on July 16th, doubling again, in 4 months, to 2 million today.

3's 2 million mobile broadband customers are therefore added to the approximate 4 million fixed broadband customers in Italy, making a total of more than 6 million total users and placing it 4th in the world in terms of broadband connections.

After achieving the fastest rollout of a network in the Italian market (2,200 aerials in 2002, 4,300 in 2003, 5,600 today), 3 is also the leader in terms of coverage, with the widest UMTS network on the national territory, able to offer videocalls and other third generation services to 70% of the population, which means around 40 million Italians in over 1250 cities. By the end of 2004, the coverage will reach 75% of the peninsula's inhabitants.

Since April 2003, 3's clients have made more than 238 million downloads from among the multimedia contents of the 3 Portal and La Tua TV video sessions, and 3 currently is experiencing a 76% increase compared to figures seen in July 2004. Even, as the company doubles the number of customers, the usage of its UMTS services surges: in the last four months, the watched minutes of La Tua TV have tripled, reaching 6,6 million.

3 is the first italian operator to propose, with 93rd minute, a format conceived and made entirely "in house" for the Mobile TV. 3 is also becoming the first Mobile TV broadcaster of the Italian market: every month, more than 5000 hours are broadcasted by 3 (7 La Tua TV channel, 24 hours a day).

3 - Is the commercial brand of H3G, the mobile video company in the Italian market. After having won the UMTS license in Italy in November 2000, with the offer of 3,25 billion euros, 3 launched its service at the beginning of March 2003 and aimed for the leadership of the third generation mobile market. Among its shareholders are prominent leaders in Italy and the world, from the sectors of telecommunications, the Internet and new media, publishing and finance. Hutchison Whampoa Limited is the primary shareholder 88,67% of the authorized capital. The other shareholders include CIR, S. Paolo Imi, BMI, RCS Mediagroup, Gemina and Tiscali.

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