OXFORD, United Kingdom—By the end of 2003, Chris Gent, the chief executive officer of Vodafone, expects 3G handsets to be available that will enable its customers to seamlessly roam between the two main 3G standards. The company is reported to have requested handset manufacturers to develop products that are capable of supporting the UMTS and cdma2000 standards.
This move is designed to allow subscribers to U.S.-based Verizon Wireless, a Vodafone joint venture with Verizon Communications, to roam onto its European-based networks—and vice versa. Industry analysts claim that, if handsets supporting dual standards do not become available, Vodafone may consider selling its shareholding in Verizon Wireless. Dual standard handsets have been advocated by Qualcomm for some time given that they have chipsets capable of supporting both technologies.
Gent added that he expected the shortages of GPRS cell phones to have disappeared by year-end, and forecasts that at least 13 models would come onto the market in time for Christmas.
