Like in Europe, 3G technology has been available in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea for a few years, while the Philippines and Indonesia plan to launch it next year.

There are 50 million cell phones with 3G technology in use globally, said Montanaro, adding that he had gleaned his information from research conducted by Germany-based GfK Group.

Nokia itself expects to ship 40 million 3G cell phones in 2006 and plans to have eight models that are wired for the services. It had two 3G models in 2004 and four last year.

Montanaro made his remarks in Kuala Lumpur at Nokia’s launch of five new phones, one of which is 3G-enabled.

As more countries approve the use of 3G services, more consumers will buy the phones, he said.

Eventually, this will lead to economies of scale in production, resulting in lower retail prices. And in countries where 3G remains unavailable, consumers may have to pay more for their regular phones because manufacturers may decrease production of non-3G cell phones, Montanaro predicted.

In Thailand, once the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) approves the use of the technology, he forecast that 3G services would be used immediately, particularly in urban areas where consumers already own phones capable of using them.

It will also lead to another facet of competition within the cell-phone market, and there will be a race to prove who can provide the best 3G technology. Currently, the main competitive factors are design, features and functions.

However, while waiting for the NTC to approve the use of 3G, Nokia plans to stay focused on its phones with other hot technologies. It will continue in this manner until the demand for 3G phones become large enough for it to focus almost solely on such phones.

Montanaro predicted that the 3G market in Asia would grow quickly, while the market in Europe would slow.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation

Kuala  Lumpur