The world will have to wait a little longer for third generation (3G) mobile phones after British Telecommunications Plc today delayed the launch of services on the Isle of Man because of malfunctioning handsets.
BT said its Manx Telecom subsidiary was postponing its launch of the high-speed mobile Internet technology by at least three months because of a software problem in phones supplied by NEC Corp.
The service had been due to start at the end of this month and would have been the world's first after Japan's NTT DoCoMo delayed its launch from May until October. BT said it will now start 3G at the end of summer or early autumn.
The NEC handsets lose their connection when the caller moves into a new mobile cell, a BT spokesman said. A software problem in the phone prevents the network seamlessly passing the call to the radio mast in the new cell. The problem is the same one that forced DoCoMo to delay, the spokesman said.
"The news will further dent confidence in 3G," said Mr Declan Lonergan, director of wireless at consultancy Yankee Group.As if it needed any more bad news, and as if BT did, he said.
The announcement came as BT began meeting institutional investors to persuade them to contribute to a 5.9 billion pounds cash call. The rights issue, launched last week, will help BT reduce debts accumulated by buying expensive 3G licences.