Hutchison offers three of the best
According to leading mobile phone operator Hutchison Telecom, it is the region's only telecommunications operator offering three digital networks - GSM, CDMA and PCS - for Hong Kong cellular phone customers.
'We can provide the widest choice for our customers,' a spokesman said. 'We are the only company in the world to operate three digital networks in the same region.' Hutchison has been in the mobile phone business for more than 10 years and has steadily offered the most progressive technologies available on the market. The firm recently added GSMA and Personal Communication Service (PCS), after moving from an analog network to a fully digital network base in 1995.
Figures from April show the company now boasts 270,000 GSM customers and 70,000 CDMA customers.
The new CDMA service operates on the 1,800 MHz frequency, double that used by the area's first mobile frequency, GSM. Hutchison now offers more than 180 cell-strengthened sites across the region, enhancing call clarity and stabilising voice reception. CDMA's wider bandwidth also expands customers' data transmission abilities.
Hutchison's spokesman said it was difficult to determine whether the new CDMA format - swiftly gaining popularity worldwide - would completely overtake the GSM format in Hong Kong.
Hutchison's main concern was to meet customers' requirements.
'With a tight mobile market of over 1.5 million subscribers, we need to keep competitive and offer the latest service available,' the spokesman said. 'With CDMA, the voice quality is the key selling point.' Hutchison's campaign to promote PCS has gained speed this year and will intensify next year.
The company's basic services are available through the Motorola PCN 780 ($2,000). PCS services include call forwarding, busy transfers, call waiting, and unreachable call forwarding, all at $35 per service. Customers can bundle all service together for $50 per month.
