And then billions more on marketing to convince people to pay for 3G services. Both DT and British Telecom have come under threat of receiving a ratings downgrade from credit agency Moody's, which would mean they have to pay higher rates of interest on their massive debts. There is now obviously a because the net indebtedness of some of these big telecom companies has gone through the roof. Many telecoms companies were planning their business on the basis that mobile users were going to upgrade their phones frequently. But delays in the rollout of the 3G devices have slowed down the uptake.
Consumers are unwilling to trade up until new multimedia services become available.
Analysts have questioned how some carriers will make money given the amount of money they have spent to obtain 3G spectrum. Some observers question how much demand there is for 3G services. Compounding the matter are the delays in 3G network implementations. Only last month the president of Palm Canada was casting long term doubts as to the future of 3G services. The reality is that the Internet is not friendly to mobile devices.