Hutchison Whampoa Announces the Global Launch of the X-Series From 3

London, November 16 (ots/PRNewswire) -

- 3 Group, in Partnership With Skype, Sling Media, Yahoo!, Nokia,
Google, eBay, Microsoft, Orb and Sony Ericsson, Unleashes the True
Power of Broadband Internet Over the Mobile

Hutchison Whampoa Limited today announced the global launch of the
X-Series from 3. The X-Series from 3 marks the beginning of the
internet via mobile broadband, and heralds a new way of doing
business for mobile network operators. It will extend several of the
core applications and uses of the broadband internet to the mobile
handset, with a new pricing model. The X-Series from 3 will be
supported by the leading internet companies, cutting-edge handsets
from the world's leading mobile manufacturers and premium customer
service.

Customers will be able to make unlimited calls from their mobile
using Skype, watch their home television via their mobile using
Sling, access their home PC remotely using Orb and have access to the
best of internet and messaging services from Yahoo!, Windows Live
Messenger and Google.

The X-Series from 3 will be priced like fixed line broadband. It
will offer use of mobile internet services free at the time of use,
for a flat fee. The X-Series from 3 will be available in the UK from
the 1st December 2006 and in 3's other markets around the world in
early 2007. Each 3 company will provide further details as they
launch X-Series in their markets.

Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said:
"This is the internet as it was meant to be and what people have been
waiting for. Mobile broadband is the natural next step for mobile
services, extending the full power of the internet to mobile
handsets. By partnering with the leaders of the internet and the
leading handset makers, the X-Series from 3 will give everyone access
to more of what they want, when they want it, and however much of it
they want, all free when they use it."

Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said: "We
believe that giving our customers the benefit of the favourable
economics of the broadband world will lead more customers to join our
network. That is the proposition the 3 Group will be putting forward
in all of its markets under the X-Series. This is why we created 3,
and what our network was designed to deliver. The X-Series heralds
important changes in the business model for mobile media and
internet. Moving away from unit charges will set mobile users free to
enjoy broadband services without fear of 'bill-shock'."

The X-Series from 3

The X-Series from 3 will allow people to communicate, find
information and be entertained in ways they have never been able to
do before using a mobile handset.

With X-Series, the 3 Group is sharing the power of mobile
broadband with its internet partners and above all, with its
customers who will get more of what they want, when they want it, how
they want it, and without fear of hidden charges every step of the
way at the point of use.

At today's launch presentation the 3 Group announced global
partnerships with major internet brands Sling Media, Orb and Google.
These partnerships build on global agreements announced earlier this
year with Skype, Microsoft and Yahoo!

New Charging Structure

X-Series customers will be charged flat access fees for X-Series
mobile broadband services on top of their basic subscription. The
access fees will include all you can Skype, all you can chat by
instant text message and all you can search and browse. There will
initially be an additional access fee for customers who also take
higher-bandwidth services like Sling and Orb. Just like the fixed
line internet, all X-Series services will be free at the point of
use, subject only to fair usage limits.

The X-Series will lay the foundations for the mobile broadband
charging models of the future. The broadband internet is based on a
completely different economic model than that of most mobile
operators today. As internet and media technologies have evolved,
customers are able to do more at less cost. Customers in the future
will be attracted by greater and greater choice, and higher and
higher usage levels, for fair, attractive and transparent access
fees.

This charging structure overturns the traditional telephony model
of charging per minute, per message, per click, per event and per
megabyte. This is made possible by the rapid development of all IP
(internet protocol) mobile networks, HSDPA and HSUPA network speed
upgrades, peer-to-peer technologies, and a number of efficiency
improvements in every aspect of a mobile operator's business. As a
result, the cost of providing broadband internet and media
applications in mobility may be expected to continue to decline, as
it has in the internet and fixed-line broadband world.

Voice

An X-Series customer will be able to make and receive unlimited
Skype calls with Skype PC users anywhere in the world, and to any
other Skype 3 mobile customer. Skype to Skype calls on a 3 mobile
will be free.(1)

Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype, said: "Over the last three years,
Skype has changed the way people communicate with one another. There
are 136 million Skype users today who are making free calls to other
Skype users across the world. With 3, I am very proud to say that for
the first time, our users can now try out making Skype calls on the
move using a mobile phone. We always want to delight our users by
letting them try out new ways of keeping in touch. This is a real
milestone for Skype because now you can use Skype beyond the PC, no
matter where you happen to be."

Your TV where you are

An X-Series customer who purchases a Slingbox will be able to
watch anything they are able to watch on their own TV, including
their terrestrial TV, Freeview, cable, and satellite TV, at the same
time, on their mobile. Slingbox will also let X-Series customers
control their home personal video recorder (PVR) to watch shows they
have recorded, pause and rewind live TV, or even queue a recording
when away from home using their mobile.

Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media, said: "Working
together with 3 has enabled us to push the boundaries of TV viewing
further than ever before. 3 understands the power of mobile broadband
to deliver compelling, value-add applications and services like a
truly personalised mobile TV experience. We are thrilled to be
working with them. The availability of SlingPlayer Mobile for 3
customers is a major breakthrough in mobile TV viewing. Customers can
now view all the programmes they love to watch at home whilst on the
move via their mobile phone."

Your PC where you are

Using Orb means people can access the digital content that they
have stored on their PC at home, including music files, playlists,
digital photos and videos, on their X-Series handset. Orb has
specifically designed a user interface for X-Series handsets, which
will ensure the X-Series customers taking Orb will receive the best
user experience.

Joe Costello, Chairman and co-founder of Orb Networks, said: "3
Group just gets it. They are the first mobile media company to give
their customers the freedom and choices to use the mobile Web the way
it was intended to be used. Who doesn't want the freedom to control
what digital media we enjoy, when we enjoy it and where? That's the
type of media freedom Orb provides. 3 is not running away from the
future, they are running towards it with open arms, ripping down the
wall around the garden and offering up the best Web 2.0 services to
their customers."

Messaging

X-Series from 3 will offer customers text instant messages, to or
from Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger, to another X-Series
handset, or a PC. Sending and receiving text instant messages with an
X-Series mobile will be free.(1)

Sharon Baylay, General Manager, Microsoft Online Services Group
UK, said: "We're excited to be bringing one of Microsoft's best of
breed communications services to 3's network. Already, in the UK
alone, 3 users are having one million Windows Live Messenger
conversations every day. These are exciting numbers and mobile
broadband will bring a rapid shift in the delivery of internet
services, and consumers' usage of them. This announcement shows
Microsoft at the forefront of the mobile broadband revolution and we
will continue to roll out 'anywhere access' to our leading web
services."

Open Internet Access and Search

Customers will be able to search the internet without limitation
from their mobile using a Google(TM) or Yahoo search engine,
depending on their choice and the search services available in their
country. Searching and browsing the internet on mobile will be
free.(1)

Terry Semel CEO of Yahoo said: "Approximately three billion people
in the world today are using mobile devices, and to have the ability
to connect to those three billion, with broadband capabilities, and
allow them to take advantage of Yahoo! Services on the go is a huge
opportunity for both our company and for 3."

Dominique Vidal, Regional Vice President & Managing Director of
Yahoo! Europe, said: "As the number of consumers accessing the
Internet on their Mobile devices continues to grow, creating and
partnering to deliver Innovative mobile communications services,
personalised content and an intuitive search experience is a key
component to Yahoo!'s future success. With the launch of broadband
mobile Internet, 3 Group and Yahoo! can now deliver the rich and
personalised Internet experiences that consumers want on the go."

Jim Holden, Director Wireless Strategic Partnerships, Google,
said: "We want people to be able to find useful information on the
internet wherever they are. 3 share this goal. Mobile search offers
people the chance of a rich internet experience on the go. Our
agreement takes us a step further to meeting this ambition."

The best Internet shopping with eBay

X-Series customers will be able to shop on eBay real-time.
Searching and browsing and bidding will be free. This will give eBay
users with access to 3 the ability to enjoy enhanced opportunities to
buy and sell on the go and not just in front of their PCs. With 3 and
X-Series, eBay sellers and buyers will be able to stay connected to
one another when and where they want.

Cutting edge handsets

The global launch of the X-Series from 3 is being made possible by
the first two handsets that will support this full range of services:
the Nokia N73 and the Sony Ericsson W950i.

Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile
Phones, Nokia, said: "We are firm believers that mobile convergence
is the future of mobility. With its wide array of features, the Nokia
N73 multimedia computer is simply ideal for this kind of innovative
service. The X-Series from 3 will be a great way for consumers to
take full advantage of the devices' great features. We are proud to
take part in the X-Series and we are most confident that our
customers will greatly benefit from this mobile broadband service."

Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson said: "Today's sophisticated
consumers want complex services at their fingertips and our devices
are the physical touch-point between Internet services and the
consumer. But consumers don't just want a functional device, they
want something highly individual. That's what the W950i Walkman phone
brings to the X-Series."

(1) Subject to international roaming limitations and fair use
restrictions.

Webcast of media event

A webcast of the media conference announcing the global launch of
the X-Series from 3 will be live from 10:30am GMT on 16th November
2006 and can be viewed at: http://xseries.three.com/webcast

Cantos Interview

Interviews with Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison
Whampoa Limited, Frank Sixt, Group Finance Director of Hutchison
Whampoa Limited, Niklas Zennstrom, CEO, Skype and Kai Oistamo,
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Phones, Nokia,
can be viewed at www.cantos.com

3 Group

A division of Hutchison Whampoa, the 3 Group together with
Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited, is the leading
global player in the 3G arena, holding licences in 11 markets with
total population coverage of approximately 175 million.

In just three years, the 3 Group has built an entirely new mobile
broadband network, achieving probably the fastest rollout of a radio
network in the entire telecom industry. Marketed globally under the 3
brand, the 3 Group was the first operator in the world to provide
dual-mode 3G services.

To date, commercial 3G services have been launched in Italy, the
UK, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel and
Ireland. Hutchison announced more than 13.5 million customers in
August 2006.

For more information about 3, please visit www.three.com

For more information on the X-Series from 3 please visit
http://xseries.three.com

Contacts:
3 media office
UK
+44-207-350-5696
media@three.co.uk
Hutchison Whampoa
Laura Cheung
Tel: +852-2128-1289
Fax: +852-2128-1766
Email: laurac@hwl.com.hk

ots Originaltext: Hutchison Whampoa Limited
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contacts: 3 media office, UK, +44-207-350-5696, media@three.co.uk.
Hutchison Whampoa, Laura Cheung, Tel: +852-2128-1289, Fax:
+852-2128-1766, Email: laurac@hwl.com.hk