Vodafone makes first international 3G call

Vodafone has made what it claims to be the world's first international 3G call from Spain to Japan.

The call was made at 09:30(CET), from a prototype Qualcomm handset with a Japanese SIM card over Nortel Networks' infrastructure to a handset in Japan.

As so often happens in these situations, the participants fluffed a great chance to grab a place in the book of great quotations.

John de Wit, CEO of Vodafone Spain, said: "Good afternoon Darryl. This is John De Wit of Vodafone Spain. Are we connected to Japan?"

J-Phone boss Darryl Green replied: "Hi John, yes, you're through to Darryl Green of J-Phone."

The announcement is the first pay-off from Vodafone's victory in two closely fought takeover battles in Japan and Spain.

Both countries set very ambitious timescales for the deployment of 3G services, and although neither country actually met those deadlines, both countries established an early lead in the race to deploy 3G networks.

As such, they became vital targets for any company with ambitions to build a genuinely global 3G mobile phone network. Vodafone and BT both tried to take over Airtel (now Vodafone Spain) and J-Phone, but the heavily indebted BT was no match for Vodafone's aptitude at corporate takeovers.

BT effectively conceded defeat when Sir Christopher Bland took over in April and refocused the company's efforts on cutting its mounting debts - by selling its Airtel and J-Phone stakes to the old enemy, Vodafone.