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BT stalls in 3G three-legged race
BT's much-hyped Manx Telecom 3G project has been delayed by a glitch in the NEC 3G handsets. NEC believes the problem will take "a couple of months" to resolve.

By editorial@silicon.com

Published: Monday 14 May 2001

According to a spokesman for Manx Telecom, the launch will now take place in late summer as opposed to later this month as planned. He said: "We will still launch this summer, but when exactly is not yet known."

A spokesman for NEC denied the glitch was comparable to a similar problem with the NEC-supplied element of NTT DoCoMo's 3G network in Japan. He said: "The problem here is with the whole system, not a specific terminal or handset. The two networks are completely different, so the Isle of Man delay cannot be compared to the issue in Japan."

Although the entire radio network for the project was imported from Japan earlier this year, it will not need to be returned in order to fix the problem. The spokesman added: "We have engineers on site in the Isle of Man, and they will be working 36 hours a day to correct the problem."

In March this year BT claimed the project was still firmly on schedule for May.

NEC and Siemens are wholly responsible for Manx network infrastructure, while Crown Castle has been involved in upgrading the base stations, of which there are to be around 30. Population coverage is intended to be around 80 per cent initially, with 100 per cent being reached within three months of launch.

By Mark Mayne