During a public demonstration of the company's 3G capabilities in Cebu recently, Ramon Isberto, head of the Public Affairs group at Smart Communications Inc., said that like what was seen with digital cameras, camera phones, and other electronic devices, market penetration of 3G would begin with the high-end users until it becomes available to a broader customer base.

'How quickly this process will take place, we'll have to wait and see,' said Isberto. Whether 3G penetration will take off in the country next year or not would depend on several factors, said Isberto. These factors include the availability and affordability of handsets, regulatory factors particularly when the National Telecommunications Commission grants the 3G licenses, and the quality of services that would be delivered through 3G.

During the company's first public demonstration of its 3G capabilities, Smart put up a 3G test network in Mactan Island, Cebu where this year's Inter-working Roaming Expert Group (IREG) conference, an international telecom conference, was held. 'We have decided to stage our test facility for 3G in conjunction with the IREG event to show our international counterparts our capability in providing mobile broadband services,' said Rolando Pe'a, head of Smart's network services division.

Engineers from Smart conducted the first inter-network 3G video call to Smart's roaming partner Telecom Italia Mobile and showcased other 3G-enabled services like broadcast streaming, simultaneous voice and messaging, and videoconferencing on Smart-to-Smart 3G SIMs (Subscriber Identification Modules).

Smart started conducting tests with 3G technology five years ago. As early as December 2000, the company, together with communications solutions provider Nokia and former NTC commissioner Nestor Dacanay, completed what was claimed as the first-ever 3G trial in the country. Pe'a, however, stressed that the 3G trial was only for a PC-to-PC system and that no mobile handsets were part of the test.