MOBILEONE has leapfrogged its two bigger telco competitors by being the first to charge for its 3G service.
Starting today, M1 will offer video calls at 40 cents per minute, while video streaming, MP3 downloads and Internet surfing will remain free till March 31.
Existing M1 customers can upgrade to a 3G service at no extra charge simply by buying a 3G handset and switching to a 3G SIM card.
Mr Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer, told the Straits Times in Cannes, France, that the 3G video calls are targeted at early adopters to see if the service takes off.
M1 rolled out its pilot 3G service in November, when it offered 100 handpicked customers 3G cards that could be slotted into notebook PCs for high-speed Internet access. In December, the next stage of the trial saw another 200 selected customers provided with 3G handsets.
By December, SingTel and StarHub had also started their own 3G trials. Press reports say SingTel is expected to start charging for 3G services next month, while StarHub will do so by the middle of the year.
In a statement yesterday, M1 said it is offering a specially priced pair of Motorola E1000 phones at $1,196 and Nokia 6630 sets at $798.
Mr Chua Swee Kiat, general manager of corporate communications at M1, said: 'The idea is that for video calls you need two handsets, otherwise you need to go around looking for people with 3G phones.'
M1 3G customers can also make international video calls to 12 countries, including Switzerland, Sweden, France, Germany and Hong Kong.
3G roaming will also be available in seven countries, including Japan, Hong Kong, France and Germany.
As a further inducement, M1's MiWorld portal will offer more than 4,000 MP3 song downloads, live video feeds from Channel NewsAsia, streaming music videos and movie trailers.
Mr Chua said that copyright has been cleared with the record labels and users will not face restrictions on music downloads.
The telco also said that it is working on other 3G content to entice customers, including a drama serial produced by MediaCorp exclusively for M1 and international sports and entertainment programmes.
Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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