UK slow to adopt 3G data services

The slow take-up of mobile phone data services suggests that third-generation (3G) technology will take time to be widely adopted, say experts.

The availability of 3G services is still very limited, despite the first licences being awarded three years ago, analysts told delegates at this week?s 3GSM World Congress in Cannes.

Just 0.01 per cent of the world's mobile phone subscribers are accessing services using WCDMA 3G technology, which is the system that all European countries will use, says Michele Scanlon, research director at wireless analyst EMC.

Scanlon expects an increase in the availability of 3G networks through 2004, but says that poor take-up of existing data services is likely to cause further delay.

Take-up of the widely-available GPRS technology is still slow, two years after it was launched.

Scanlon says there are 4.3 million GPRS subscribers, with 2.6 million in western Europe - less than one per cent of the world's mobile phone users.

Rupert Reid, consultant at analyst ARC Group, says data makes up about 10 per cent of operator revenues, but predicts it will be 2007 before sales reach 30 per cent.But he believes that more than half of all handsets will include multimedia messaging technology by the end of 2004.

GSM remains the dominant connection technology for 70 per cent of subscribers, from a total base of 1.13 billion users.