The minimum charge for subscribers, $263 a month, follows initial estimates that consumers would have to pay $500
Hong Kong consumers will enjoy a lower than expected subscription fee for the long-awaited third generation (3G) mobile phone service when it is launched by Hutchison Telecom next month.
Hutchison Telecom - the largest mobile phone service provider in Hong Kong with 1.8 million 2G subscribers - will offer its 3G consumers three tariff plans: monthly charges of $263, $383 and $533.
The fee, including basic voice units, text messages and wireless data units, is lower than earlier market estimates of about $500 a month.
The 3G handset for the Hong Kong market, NEC c616, will cost $4,380. The price will be lower, $3,980, for anyone buying two or more units.
The phones will allow users to make video calls and enjoy high-speed browsing, therefore enabling customers to receive information and entertainment services in video form.
Without giving an exact date for the launch, the managing director of the Hutchison Whampoa Group, Canning Fok Kin-ning, said the 3G services, which have already been delayed for more than three months due to a shortage of handsets, would be launched 'some time in early January'.
