Vodafone goes Dutch with 3G network

But loses customers in Germany

Vodafone has begun rolling out its 3G network in the Netherlands and claims it will be able to deliver UMTS multimedia services early next year. Some masts have already been erected in Amsterdam, with a "significant number" to follow in the Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam before the end of 2002, according to the FT. Nationwide coverage will not be achieved until 2007. Meanwhile, there's bad news for the company from Germany, where it has lost customers for the first time. According to this weekend's Observer, analysts are predicting that Vodafone may have lost as many as 300,000 subscribers over the last quarter, just two years after it merged with Mannesmann. Some industry pundits blame the disappearance of the Mannesmann brand as a factor in consumers' decision to abandon the network.