Hutchinson and Telstra to work together

Hutchinson Whampoa confirmed that it was in talks with Australian telecommunications providers, amongst them Telstra, about sharing the high-speed mobile phone network - their third generation network (3G).

The advantages are clear for both - cost sharing. Hutchinson is suffering financially in countries where it already rolls out 3G services, such as the UK. And to build a 3G network from scratch is an expensive exercise. Telstra also assumes that it will save in the tie-up.

What is problematic is that the two companies fall out over disagreements in April this year over proposed network sharing - while differences are something common, and very often beneficial, to start an expensive venture in disagreement might not be the most fortunate beginning.

In addition, Telstra has a lot ongoing currently - it is "expected to complete the deployment of CDMA EV-DO network soon, which targets corporate mobile data users. It is trialling wireless technology from US vendor Flarion intended for very high speed data services in CBDs and wants to have its consumer mobile service i-Mode in place before Christmas.

A big program, using a lot of resources. Actually, each of those would already require laser-pinned focus, shaping the corporate culture and requiring great things from top-class employees.