OXFORD, United Kingdom-While many of the public statements from the U.K. cell-phone operators have always mentioned early 2002 as the commercial deployment date for third-generation (3G) services, the four existing players have all let it be known very late 2002 or 2003 is a more likely date.
Vodafone and One 2 One confirmed that some sort of “semi-commercial” 3G launch would take place in 2002, with the unofficial spokespeople being careful to use wording that did not commit them to when, where or at what level of service 3G would be offered.
While the U.K. companies are not willing to detail reasons for the slippage, an indication of the problems involved with deploying 3G has come from manufacturers of network testing equipment. One well-known developer has admitted in theory its equipment should be satisfactory to test 3G.
“But we don’t know if it will really work in a deployed network. 3G is so much more complex than GSM,” the source said.
