TELECOMS & MOBILE
Meteor readies GPRS network
02-05-2003
by John Cradden
Meteor, Ireland's third mobile operator, is planning to launch a range of GPRS services before the end of the year in a bid to attract users.
Although the other two operators, Vodafone and O2, have had 2.5G services on the market for about 18 months, Meteor is still taking tentative steps towards the launch of GPRS-enabled services.
A spokesman for Meteor told ElectricNews.Net that the company, which is shortly to switch on its GPRS network, is planning to commercially launch these services, but declined to be any more specific about the date of the launch other than to say it would happen before the end of 2003.
"We will be launching a suite of products and services that we believe our customers will want," he said. "It's not about technology for technology's sake. When we felt that we had a package of features and services that we believe that customers want, that's when we would launch them."
He said the fact that the technology is 2.5G as opposed to 2G is not something the average customer is concerned about. The services will be aimed at both consumer and business customers and the move could help the Meteor increase its relatively low market share above the current 4 percent level. The spokesman could not say how much had been invested in upgrading the company's GSM network to GPRS capability.
The company now claims network population coverage of 85 percent, but still does not cover any of Donegal county. Meteor has asked the Commission for Communications Regulation to compel O2 and Vodafone to offer it roaming on their networks but so far no deal has reportedly been reached.
In an interview with The Irish Times on Friday, Meteor chief executive Stewart Sheriff rejected suggestions that Meteor was a take-over target for Hutchison Whampoa, which is shortly to enter the Irish market. He also said that Western Wireless, the US mobile firm that owns 80 percent of Meteor, does not have any plans to off-load its stake in the Irish firm despite financial problems in the US.
Western Wireless posted its first quarter results this week, which showed a narrower first quarter net-loss and increased revenues compared to a year ago.
The Washington-based the firm said its net loss narrowed to USD21.6 million, or USD0.27 a diluted share, from a net loss of USD120.6 million, or USD1.53 a share a year earlier. Total revenue rose 15 percent to USD327.2 million from a year earlier, as the company added 18,300 US customers and 95,100 customers to its international businesses.
"Our international team continued their outstanding performance, delivering further improvement in operating results," said chairman and CEO John W. Stanton. "Our focus on profitable customer growth is paying off. Consolidated subscribers have increased nearly 60 percent in the last year and EBITDA losses have narrowed."
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 