Australians to get first glimpse of 3G network


The 3G technology promises speedy video and text over mobile networks

ADELAIDE, Australia -- Australians will get a chance to test the much-talked-about but rarely experienced "third generation" of communications next month.

The World Congress on Information Technology will run the southern hemisphere's first live network demonstration of 3G technology.

The World Congress on IT is being held in the southern city of Adelaide from February 25 to March 1.

In the demo, the network will deliver broadband content over a mobile phone using a new 3G standard known as Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS).

Still to be launched commercially, UMTS is said to be capable of delivering voice, data, audio and video at speeds up to 384k bits per second through fixed, wireless or satellite systems.

Bill Clinton slated to speak

Australia's largest phone company, Telstra, communications company Alcatel and the m.Net Corporation, a consortium of 19 Australian and multinational organizations, are banding together to provide all the necessary components.

The m.Net consortium is also establishing the world's first independent 3G wireless telecommunications network, in Adelaide's central business district.

More than 1,500 delegates are expected to attend the bi-annual congress, which will be one of the major technology events in the Asia Pacific region this year.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton will be delivering the keynote address.

The congress is the flagship event of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and is being held in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.

WITSA is the main global trade representative of the information industry, representing the national IT associations of 41 countries.