31 August 2004 Mobile operator T-Mobile, has promised to increase the speed of its 3G data card to 384kbps by the end of 2004.

The decision will see T-Mobile matching the speeds already offered by rivals Orange and Vodafone.

T-Mobile hopes to attract customers by offering a flat rate monthly fee of £70 for the first three months. Customers will also get access to 3G and GPRS networks and WiFi access.

By contrast, Vodafone currently charges subscribers a monthly tariff ranging from £11.75 for 5MB to £100 for 500MB and Orange charges £11.75 per month for 7MB of data to about £90 per month for 1GB.

Jay Saw, manager for T-Mobile hotspots, said: “The idea is to take away the pain of deciding which tariff you need.”

But Saw said that T-Mobile is likely to introduce a tiered price scheme.

Analysts said this signals the start of intense competition between the 3G operators.