The Hutchison Microtel unit of Hutchison Telecommunications UK Ltd claimed yesterday that it is still ahead in the race to provide a low cost personal communications telephone service: Microtel also welcomed the launch of the Mercury One-2-One mobile phone service, saying that it provided a much needed boost to competition in the UK’s mobile phone market; it reaffirmed its commitment to provide a service to most of the UK when it launches its service next year, telling Reuter Microtel will be the only service committed to offering local and long distance calls on its own network at affordable prices; it says it is well on target to provide coverage to 40m consumers by the end of 1994; despite all the talk of Hutchison seeking to sell the business, it says that by the time of its launch it will have invested more than UKP350m and is committed to investing UKP700m all told by the year 2000.
