3G Launched in Croatia

VIPnet has launched the first commercial 3G service in Croatia - Vodafone Mobile Connect UMTS. City Broadband is a new tariff adapted for permanent access to Internet using Vodafone Mobile Connect - UMTS Card.

Josef Vinatzer, CEO of VIPnet, emphasized that "After the launch of EDGE last year UMTS is one of the most important events on VIPnet's 3G path. With a significantly higher data transfer speed customers will feel the announced advantages of UMTS, they will be able to do more in shorter period of time. According to our first experience and on the first place to the experience of Vodafone's customers in a large number of countries worldwide, VMC UMTS is really transforming the mode of operation".

City Broadband is offered in 91 cities, the so-called city zones.

VIPnet entered the world of the mobile telephony of the third generation as early as in April last year when EDGE was introduced. In October 2004, VIPnet has been granted an UMTS concession, and the Concession Agreement was signed on December 16th.

Under the Concession Agreement VIPnet has undertaken to achieve a 25% coverage of the population within two years; such coverage has almost already been achieved by now, one month upon the execution of the agreement. Four major cities - Osijek, Split, Rijeka and Zagreb - are covered with the UMTS network.

"There are already more than 60 UMTS networks in the world; however, VIPnet is one of the first operators in the world to offer two 3G technologies to its customers on a commercial basis - EDGE and UMTS", stated Toni Puljak, 3G Project Leader at VIPnet."

Posted to the site on 24th January 2005