3 starts taking pre-orders for their 3G handsets 22nd Feb

In early March customers will also be able to pre-order in-store in 3 UK's flagship 3Store outlets in London and Birmingham and in selected branches of Dixons, The Link, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U and via a range of independent retailers across the UK. Fulfilment of confirmed pre-orders is expected to begin in mid-March.

3 UK also revealed details of tariffs and handset options which will offer compelling and highly competitive voice, multimedia and mobile video services at prices which are well within reach of the mass-market.

The company announced it will offer a price plan for customers looking for the flexibility of 'pay as you use' tariffs with no monthly line rental, in addition to offering two generous 'bundle' pricing options for customers looking to pay a fixed monthly cost for a large number of voice calls, video calls, multimedia downloads and multimedia messaging.

All of 3's price plans are based on a simple and transparent event-based charging system linking payment to specific items of content downloaded by the customer - in contrast to existing mobile data services where access is charged by the megabyte. Additionally there are no complex peak and off-peak charges: voice and video calls are billed according to fixed tariffs, regardless of the time of day or day of the week

Prospective customers can find out more and pre-register online at www.three.co.uk.

3 UK Managing Director Colin Tucker said: "We are looking forward to bringing 3's unique products and services to the UK market. 3 will bring about a fundamental shift in the mobile communications landscape. We are offering consumers the kind of services that were in the realm of science fiction just a few years ago - but at pricing which is highly competitive with existing mobile voice and text services. This is an incredibly exciting time for all of us at 3 as our vision finally begins to become reality." The price plans are:

Option 1: 3ToGo

No monthly line rental

Send emails and explore news reports, sports news and fixture listings, share prices, Lotto results and more for FREE until June 30th 2003

Voice calls on 3's network to other 3 customers charged at 5p a minute

Other voice calls start from 10p a minute

Video calls charged at 50p a minute

Video downloads from 50p each, depending on content, including FA Premier League action, cartoons, comedy and more

Text messages charged at 10p each, picture messages at 25p and video messages at 50p

Up to £10 worth of video downloads free each month for your first three months

Buy two handsets and get £100 off the total price, plus a 20% discount off the price of your video calls.

Other rates apply to international calls, usage while abroad, directory enquiries, premium rate calls and certain other special telephony services.

Option 2: Kit On 3

Generous 'bundle' of voice calls, video calls, video downloads and interactive content, including:

1,000 minutes of voice calls a month 100 video call minutes a month 250 text messages, 50 downloads, 60 picture messages and 40 video messages

Send emails and explore news reports, sports news and fixture listings, share prices, Lotto results and more for FREE until June 30th 2003

Fixed monthly cost of £59.99 for a minimum 12 month contract

Voice calls above the allocated 1,000 minutes a month are charged at 15p a minute, and video calls above the allocated 100 minutes a month are charged at 50p a minute. Other rates apply to international calls, usage while abroad, directory enquiries, premium rate calls and certain other special telephony services.

Option 3: Caboodle On 3

Double the Kit On 3 'bundle' for less than double the price!

2,000 minutes of voice calls a month 200 video call minutes a month 500 text messages, 100 downloads, 120 picture messages and 80 video messages

Send emails and explore news reports, sports news and fixture listings, share prices, Lotto results and more for FREE until June 30th 2003

Fixed monthly cost of £99.99 for a minimum 12 month contract

Voice calls above the allocated 2,000 minutes a month are charged at 15p a minute, and video calls above the allocated 200 minutes a month are charged at 50p a minute. Other rates apply to international calls, usage while abroad, directory enquiries, premium rate calls and certain other special telephony services.

Special promotional offer for Kit On 3 and Caboodle On 3

3 also announced that the first 20,000 customers to register on either the Kit On 3 price plan or the Caboodle On 3 price plan before 31st March 2003 will be eligible for a 50% discount off the RRP of any handset.

Handset prices (RRP before discounts) begin at £399.