Hoping to lay to rest reports that its main shareholder, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd plans to wind up its overseas telecommunications operations, Hutchison Telecommunications UK Ltd says it is on course to launch its Personal Communications Network here in the UK by 1994. Hutchison Whampoa’s European representative Lord Derwent told Reuter on Monday that he had spoken to Hutchison Telecom managing director David Steadman in Hong Kong, and declared He was quite clear to me that there was no change contemplated in everything we have been doing in the UK, specifically in Personal Communications Network. Nothing that’s come out of Hong Kong has suggested to me that we are going to change whatever we have previously said about the launch, Lord Derwent said. This is the reassurance that I think the press and everybody wanted: I can’t add anything because I’m not in Hong Kong. But he did say that Steadman had been in conversation with Hutchison Whampoa Chairman Li Ka-Shing that morning. Earlier, Li Ka-shing said in Hong Kong that it was Whampoa’s firm intention to continue to support its UK telecommunications investment. A Hutchison Telecom UK spokesman declined to comment on investment so far in the Personal Communications Network or on how much it expected to invest overall, but analysts estimate some ?500m has already been spent, with a similar amount needed to complete the network. Hutchison Telecom UK is 65% owned by Hutchison Whampoa. British Aerospace Plc owns 30% – and wants out as soon as possible with the remainder held by Barclays Plc. Mercury Communications Ltd is set to beat Hutchison by some margin, planning to roll out its rival network with the M25 orbital motorway around London by next summer. John Dodds, Hutchison Telecom UK marketing manager, said While we haven’t given a specific date, it is far more likely that the launch would be anywhere between the end of next year to 1994. What we have said is that we will not be launching in the spring or summer next year because we are currently developing a national network as opposed to a network geared to the M25. Lord Derwent countered speculation that Hutchison might put its launch back because of economic recession. With PCN, you have all your expenditure in setting up the network. It doesn’t make sense just because of the state of the market to postpone a launch, because you’ve already spent the money by the time of the launch, he said.
