Analysts doubt 3 UK can hit 1m target

PIONEERING third-generation mobile phones operator 3 UK has no chance of hitting its target of a million subscribers by the end of the year despite promising an autumn sales blitz, say analysts.

Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong conglomerate behind 3, will also face mounting competition in Britain as rivals launch competing services from next year, they add.

3 UK said yesterday that it had won 155,000 3G users since its launch in March and would use an aggressive sales push and pre-paid tariffs to reach its year-end target.

Cusson Leung, analyst at ING in Hong Kong, said 3 was adding new customers at the rate of 15,000 a week, meaning it would have only 425,000 customers by the end of December.

'Our concern is that by introducing the pre-paid services, Hutchison would be tapping deeper into the marginal pool of users with much lower spending,' he said.

Goldman Sachs was more optimistic but also said Hutchison would miss the million mark by a wide margin and was likely to pick up only 650,000 3G users in Britain by the New Year.