NEC has received an unexpected boost with an order to double the number of 3G handsets it is supplying to Hutchinson Whampoa from one million to two million. NEC has invested heavily in 3G development but has seen its main customer, DoCoMo of Japan, acquire just 140,000 subscribers. Hutchinson Whampoa ’s confidence comes at a time when most operators are delaying their 3G technology.
NEC has begun deliveries of 1,000 phones to Hutchinson’s operations in the UK and Italy for use in trials. It expects to have fee-paying customers by the end of the year.
25-Oct-2002
