3 Reaches 90% of UK With 3G Services

Link: 3 Reaches 90% of UK With 3G Services
Filed under: Telecoms News, Wireless News, Mobile News, Technology News

Mobile operator 3UK has announced that its third-generation services now cover 90% of the UK population.

3, which is owned by Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong, is now the leading UK 3G provider, followed by Orange which covers 85% of the UK population. Vodafone has nearly 80% coverage, T-Mobile covered 70% of the UK at the end of 2006 and expects to hit 80% by the end of 2007, while O2 currently has around 60% coverage.

In the four years that it has operated in the UK, 3 has built 7,250 base stations across the country.

Since 2005, its 3G rollout has been managed in conjunction with Ericsson, which is responsible for the management, operation and performance of the network and its underlying IT infrastructure.

3 aims to roll out HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), which allows for higher data transfer speeds than 3G, across its network by the end of 2007.