Nokia supplies the WCDMA 3G core network, IP backbone and network management solution for Hutchison 3G Ireland. 3 Ireland is the new entrant in the Irish mobile services market and operates one of Ireland's 3G mobile phone licences under the '3' brand. 3 Ireland launched its 3G network on July 26th 2005, and the company has built a network to enable live video calls, multimedia content and entertainment while on the move. 3 has also signed a national roaming agreement, giving 3's customers full access to Vodafone Ireland's GSM (or 2G) network, ensuring that 3's customers will have the same level of national coverage as Vodafone Ireland's GSM customers. 3 Ireland is 100 per cent owned by Hutchison Whampoa Group which also holds 3G licenses in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the UK. In March 2005, 3 announced that it had over eight million customers worldwide. The deal with 3 Ireland is Nokia's 50th WCDMA contract.
