Mobile phone users will not be able to access a full complement of third-generation telephony (3G) services until at least 20042005, a senior director at Eircell has warned.

The warning comes amid growing signs of widely diverging views on the pricing of 3G licences between the Department of Finance, which wants to get the best price, and the telecommunications regulator's office which, according to industry sources, is more concerned with ensuring the supply of good services at competitive rates.

At a presentation recently, Mr Jim Collity, director of corporate business at Eircell, played down much of the hype surrounding 3G and suggested it may take longer than predicted to offer broadband services.

He said it would be three or four years before broadband services were available on mobiles.

Third-generation telephony is expected to offer customers a range of services, including video and multimedia, on mobile phones.

Eircell is spending €2.5 million (£1.97 million) per week on a continuous network upgrade and, like other European companies, will have to make significant revenue from its data services to justify this spending.

However, while Mr Collity said customers would use more data than voice services by 2004, he was more cautious on the download speeds and type of broadband services that would be available to customers initially.

"It will be at least 2004 or 2005 when people will be able to see each other on their phones."

Mr Collity said Eircell would probably not introduce the interim technology, general packet radio service (GPRS) that will offer "always on" Internet connection on a mobile, before August, as it would need at least two months to test the first commercial batch of compatible mobile handsets, which are expected in April/May.

The company is anxious to avoid the problems that occurred when it launched its flagship WAP phone, the Nokia 7110, amid an advertising blitz last year.

Although Eircell has about 200,000 customers with WAP-enabled handsets, the company has not revealed how many people use their mobiles for WAP services.

An Esat Digifone spokeswoman said yesterday the company did not expect to launch widespread consumer GPRS

until August or September. She said it was not clear when 3G telephony would become available, as there was no agreement on the price or timing of a competition to award licences in the Republic.