Europe : Siemens debuts second 3G mobile phone and is now the most successful 3G supplier - Rudi Lamprecht: "All mobile handsets in Europe 3G capable by 2010" Study: 3G expected to reduce costs - Consumers optimistic about the new technology

More photos click here MORE Photos

The mobile communication group at Siemens AG - Siemens mobile - debuted the U15 3G mobile phone today in Vienna. This mobile phone for the next generation of mobile communication was used to provide a live demonstration of services that are not possible on today's generation of mobile phones, such as videotelephony or music downloads from the Internet. Two 3G mobile communication networks are already in operation in Vienna; one of them was built by Siemens.

To date, twelve 3G mobile networks have already gone into operation worldwide, seven of them built by Siemens in partnership with NEC. In connection with the U15 presentation, Rudi Lamprecht, a member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, summed up the current situation this way: "With 1.3 million users today on the 3G networks we have built, we're the world's most successful equipment supplier for next-generation mobile communication."

The first 3G mobile phone from Siemens, the U10, has already been on the market in Austria for several months. Concerning the popularity of 3G handsets, Lamprecht said: "According to our forecasts, every mobile handset in Europe will be 3G capable by 2010. We anticipate that there will be some 40 million users in 2005 and that the 100-million mark will be reached by year-end 2006."

With the U15, Siemens showcased its second 3G mobile phone, which unites all of the functions that are technologically feasible today, such as videotelephony, music streaming or the ability to record sound videos. The U15 is a triband dual-mode device. That means it can operate in all GSM networks worldwide and automatically switches over to 3G. It features two integrated cameras with triple zoom, a high-resolution color display and 64 megabytes of memory. The new mobile handset will begin to ship in November and will be launched in 16 countries.

Siemens and its Japanese partner NEC are the leaders in building next-generation mobile communication networks: The two companies have already installed a total of 24,000 3G base stations and together have received contract awards to build twenty-five 3G networks. No other equipment supplier has already handed over so many networks to its customers for commercial operation.

Lamprecht also presented the results of a survey of 3,000 consumers in Germany, France and England. The result: One half of those surveyed are already convinced that 3G will succeed in the marketplace. They anticipate that the new services will substantially enhance their personal mobility; that ranges from availability right through to independence from the office or fixed-line networks. Business users expect to be able to reduce costs, for example by being able to connect to their internal enterprise network while out on the road. In Germany, 70 percent of this user group has a positive attitude toward buying a 3G mobile handset.