[3GScottishUser]

In The Scotsman on 14/04/2005 the following appeared: ""A lot people suggest that, by the fourth quarter of this year, there will be a bigger range of competitive handsets ... and 3G will start to be pushed much more by incumbent networks. But, in reality, we have to wait and see," said the finance director, Roger Taylor."

http://business.scotsman.com/retail.cfm?id=395692005

Next day in The Guardian the CPW CEO was reported: "But Mr Dunstone, who founded the business in 1989, said yesterday: "If you want my personal opinion I think 3G will go mad in the second half of the year."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1460240,00.html

So which is it? I'm not confident CPW have a strategy for 3G other than the hit & hope price led proposition that delivered them some temporary lift in the last quarter of 2004.

Are Hutchison going to throw another pile of cash at the market in the run-up to Christmas 2005? It looks like Mr Durnstone and his board are hoping so as the features and desireability of the current range of 3G handsets make them pretty undesireable (from a customer viewpoint) sitting next to much better specified GSM kit.

Does 3G offer the average customer sufficient benefit to make a change?

Is price the only way the networks can make the technology attractive?

Interesting times ahead.