3G Services in Australia


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News Archive on 3G in Australia

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21 Feb

'3' releases the new NEC e616 and the Nokia 7600 - Following a number of delays, '3' releases the NEC e616. It is lighter and smaller than its predecessor the NEC e606 and has more features. Check out the NEC e616 page. 
The Nokia 7600 is the first phone from Nokia that is supported on the '3' Network however it doesn't support video calling. Check out the Nokia 7600 page

18 Feb

Bad luck comes in 3s for telco - Australia's most ambitious telecommunications project - the $3 billion video-phone network known as '3' - has dragged its promoter Hutchison Telecommunications to a gaping $409 million loss in 2003 ... from the Australian

17 Feb

Hutchison attracts strong customer and revenue growth - 3 delivers over 100,000 customers in ten months of operation. Orange delivers full year of positive EBITDA and outperforms market post paid growth, delivering 23% customer growth ... 2003 Full year results from Hutchison

30 Jan

ACS Withdraws 3G Survey - The ACS (Australian Computer Society) has withdrawn a survey about the 3 telecommunications network and removed a related media release from its website.
The move follows discussions with Hutchison Telecoms, which operates the 3 network, about its handling of service issues  ... Full press release

23 Jan

Hutchison Introduces Videotalk to Personal Computers - Videotalk to PC allows customers to use their 3 mobile, when in 3's videozones to call any webcam and email enabled PC, both nationally and internationally, and see the person with whom they are talking ... from Hutchison ... Videotalk to PC on Three

19 Jan

Users of the NEC e808N who get a USIM error on their handset can get a Software upgrade at Three's Authorised Repair Centres ... list of Authorised Repair Centres from Three (read note at the bottom of the page. Thanks to Michael for providing this information)

16 Jan

Phone sales flop for 3G - HUTCHISON Telecommunications - whose "3" service remains Australia's first and, to date, only third generation mobile phone network - found its first Christmas not nearly as merry as expected, with retail stores falling far short of projected sales.
New NEC 616 handset in stores within the next 2 months. New Sony Ericsson Z1010 in stores from next month ... from News.com.au

8 Jan

Hutchison rings up big red numbers in pursuit of 3 - Kevin Russell was enjoying the spotlight in front of 27,000 cricket fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday. As chief executive of Hutchison Telecommunications Australia, main sponsor of Australian cricket, he was among the official speechmakers paying tribute to retiring captain Steve Waugh. Mr Russell can expect a sterner, and more sober, audience next month as he prepares to announce increasing losses from Hutchison's multi-billion-dollar bet on its next generation mobile services, 3 ... from the Sydney Morning Herald

Earlier News

Background

Hutchison Telecoms Australia launched the first 3G mobile network in Australia on the 15th of April 2003 covering Sydney and Melbourne. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth followed in July 2003.

Being interested in 3G for a while and being a small shareholder in Hutchison Telecoms, I've decided to try out their services. The service called "3" allows users to communicate via Video as well as ordinary Voice. They also offer 3 Services which is an online content service offering News, Sport, Weather, Ringtones, Games, etc ...

Initially they had 4 available handsets (although only two were available at the launch and only one of them supported Video calls). The NEC e606 (specs - handset no longer available), the NEC e808N (specs - handset no longer available) and the Motorola A830 (specs - handset no longer available). Their 4th handset, the Motorola A920 (specs) became available in September 2003. 
Just before Christmas 2003, the Motorola A835 (specs) was released. At this stage only the A920 and the A835 are available.

The 2 handsets they had available at the launch were the NEC e606 and the Motorola A830 and since the latter didn't offer Video calling, I decided on the NEC e606.

Given the lack of information on this service and handset (as it is fairly new), I thought of setting up these pages to share with others my experiences with this service along with hints and tips. I'll be gradually adding and updating the information on "3" and the NEC e606 and other handsets on these pages. 
I would also encourage any "3" user to share their experiences with the rest. Just drop me an email at comments@3GinOz.com and I'll publish your comments. (Click here for comments submitted by other users of the network)

Apart from owning  a small number of shares in Hutchison, I have no connection with Hutchison and the comments on this site are of my own personal experience and of those who wish to share their experiences.

 

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What tempted me to buy

I had a Nokia 7110 which I was very happy with but it was getting a bit old and didn't mind exploring the multimedia phones and given that "3" is the only phone company to offer Video calls, I didn't really have many choices.
The pricing of the phone was attractive. At $768 up front and no contract, it is very comparable to any other good multimedia phone out there. They also offered a $300 rebate towards your next mobile.
Additionally "3" don't have plans as such, they have a flat rate of 15c per 30 seconds (for voice) anytime with a cap of $99 on voice calls. Video calls are at 50c per 30 seconds with $32 worth free every month (that's just about half an hour worth). (how pricing works from 3)
I've noticed that they are now discounting there handsets by as much as 50%. It appears that initial intake wasn't as strong as they were hoping for. 
Note that this offer is no longer available to new customers. Hutchison replaced it with 3 for All

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