LGE steps up its 3G advance on Europe
LG Electronics (LGE) today announced an aggressive new step in its campaign to win a significant share of Europe’s third-generation (3G) UMTS mobile handset market. Drawing on the most advanced technology in the entire 3G arena, LGE said it would be teaming up with Orange – one of Europe’s major 2G and 3G service providers – to launch the LG U8150, UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), a tri-band mobile handset, enabling GSM/GPRS service.
The LG U8150 is representative of the company’s advanced 3G technologies and reflects LGE’s determination to lead the 3G market in handset design and innovation. LGE believes that the introduction of this latest model will allow the company to consolidate its position as the leading 3G mobile manufacturer, while expanding its share in the GSM market worldwide.
The new UMTS LG U8150 has been one of the star attractions of the ITU Telecom Asia event in Korea’s southern port city of Busan; industry delegates and visitors to the event have been drawn to its innovative range of features including real-time communication with video telephony through a GSM/GPRS network. The dual folder design also boasts a 262K-color TFT LCD screen, VOD/AOD, streaming video recording, and various MMS functions, including an MP3 player.
In 2Q 2004, LGE was ranked second in the world in UMTS (WCDMA), with 900,000 units sold, representing 21.4 percent of market share, according to the Global Handset Market Update conducted by Strategy Analytics. The report also described that the company as the “dark horse” of the 3G market, indicating that LGE could soon be overtaking a number of competitors in the sector.
With its successful debut in the European GSM market last year, LGE is focused on strengthening its brand image and the growing respect for its leadership in 3G -- and further consolidating its position as a global player, embracing both CDMA and GSM.
“LGE will jump-start itself in a move to expand GSM in the European market, becoming a major player and positioning itself as a 3G leader,” said Woon-Kwang Hwang, Executive Vice President for the Europe & CIS Business Division. Mr. Hwang added: “I am convinced that this momentum will help the company achieve its goal of entering the global handset industry’s global top 3 by 2006.”
The global UMTS market is now seeing increasing competition among Hutchison, Orange and Vodafone and growing by an average of 57 percent per annum. Industry experts forecast that market volume will increase up to 10 million units this year; 200 million units by 2008 and represent 50 percent of the total handset market by 2010.
