Belgacom's Proximus Prepares To Launch 3G Services

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- As of the 15th of September Belgacom SA (BELG.BT)'s Proximus customers will be able to see and hear one another during calls, download their favourite music tracks with CD quality and watch live television on their 3G mobile phones.

On 15 September Proximus launches the first 3G services for the general public in Belgium. Proximus customers will be able to see and speak to each other using video calling, watch live television on their mobile phone and download complete music tracks. Proximus is the first mobile operator in Belgium, offering 3G services. The launch of 3G services for consumers follows the introduction of 3G services for professional customers in May 2004.

Proximus is now also offering the advantages of UMTS technology to the general public. 3G offers the general public the opportunity to discover new services previously unavailable to mobile users. In September, Proximus launches three services: Mobile TV and Music Downloads via Vodafone live!, Proximus' multimedia portal, and Video Calling. The introduction of 3G services for consumers follows the launch of 3G services for the professional customers with the UMTS/GPRS datacard in May 2004. With today's announcement Proximus confirms its leading position as an innovative operator in new mobile services.

Thanks to Video Calling, clients in 3G areas can see and hear one another thanks to their 3G mobile phone. The integrated camera allows the 3G mobile to transmit live video and sound between you and your correspondent. Video Calling allows you not only to see and hear your correspondent but also to show your surroundings. The person being video called has the choice of allowing the caller to see them or not.

Vodafone live!, the Proximus multimedia portal, has evolved thanks to 3G technology, allowing customers access to new mobile services: Mobile TV and Music Download. Moreover, customers will experience richer Vodafone live! content in the areas of sport, news, music, games and general entertainment. Customers with a 3G handset will take advantage of improved image and video quality, will browse more quickly and and can download music and videos even faster.

From the Vodafone live! portal, customers can access a new innovative service, Mobile TV, allowing customers to watch live television on their 3G handset. Thanks to the launch of Mobile TV Proximus customers equipped with a 3G handset can choose between 10 channels: CNN, Euronews EN, Euronews FR, FashionTV, JIM, RTL-TVi, TLB, Trace TV, Vitaya and VTM. New channels will be added regularly.

With Music Download, Proximus customers can download full tracks of digital quality music to their 3G handsets. Once downloaded, they can listen to their favourite song as often as they like. Proximus is the first Belgian mobile phone operator to offer music to be played on a mobile handset turning your handset into an MP3 player.

Proximus' customers can choose from tens of thousands of tracks, from pop to classical. Thanks to a simple search engine, the user can easily choose from more than 50,000 titles. Proximus is working with the large music distribution of SonyBMG, Warner Music and EMI to to increase the number of songs of its music catalogue.

With activation of the 3G Discovery Pack, Proximus clients can make unlimited use of the new 3G services in Belgium for free and with no obligation until the 31st of December 2005: Video Calling to other Proximus clients, Music Downloads and Mobile TV. To activate the 3G Discovery Pack customers can call customer service (free from a Proximus GSM on 1212) or stop into a Proximus point of sale.

As of 1 Jan 2006 the following tariffs are applicable: Video Calling:EUR 0.30/minute for postpaid EUR 0.50/minute for prepaid Mobile TV: EUR 0.50/10 minutes Music Download: EUR 1.99 per track

Vodafone live! portal browsing: EUR 0,50/session of max. 1 hour EUR 7,50/month: unlimited browsing for 1 month + 5 MMS included

Proximus has added five 3G handsets to its ProximusCollection mobile phone range, including: Samsung Z500 (EUR429), Nokia 6680 (EUR449), Nokia 6630 (EUR349), SonyEricsson V600 (EUR299) and the Sony Ericsson V800 (EUR329). They will all be available as of September 15th with new models being added in the coming months.

Proximus' 3G network covers 61% of the population. This represents more than 200 cities and municipalities in Belgium. Proximus offers its clients information about 3G coverage based on post code via the website www.proximus.be and via the Customer Services (free from a Proximus GSM on 1212).

In areas without 3G coverage the 3G handset automatically switches to the GSM/GPRS networks covering more than 99% of the Belgian population. Proximus' 3G coverage and capacity will continue to expand in the future.

Proximus customers also have access to the 3G services abroad. They can use these services in 22 countries: Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, Singapore, the United Kingdom, New-Zealand and South-Africa.

Company websites: http://www.proximus.be and www.belgacom.be


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Posted to the site on 24th August 2005