Sonera, Nokia announce 3G plans

Finish operator Sonera and Nokia demonstrated WCDMA services today in Finland using Nokia’s dual-mode WCDMA/GSM handset, the Nokia 6650.

Sonera plans to launch what it called 3G offerings this fall, but only on its existing GSM network. It won’t offer commercial WCDMA service until a sufficient number of dual-mode 3G handsets reach the market and when network technology has evolved sufficiently, said Sonera. Then it will transfer applications it already has developed on GSM to the WCDMA network.

“The challenge today is how to excite my customers to pick up the phone every day,” said Harri Koponen, president and CEO of Sonera. “Customer expectation is the biggest challenge today.”

Sonera plans to introduce a variety of next-generation applications this fall that range from advanced multimedia messaging service (MMS) to m-commerce capabilities.

Despite the economic challenges throughout Europe surrounding the deployment of WCDMA systems, Nokia’s J.T. Bergqvist, executive vice president and general manager of IP Mobility Networks, said many operators will begin WCDMA friendly trials beginning in the fourth quarter. Nokia won’t begin commercial shipments of the WCDMA/GSM handset until 2003.