No one wants GPRS, says mobile phone tycoon

NEWS Only 200 customers per month are signing up for GPRS, says Charles Dunstone, founder of the Carphone Warehouse, because they can't see the point in the new services. GPRS is an enhanced version of current GSM mobile technology that allows a faster, always-on connection to data services such as the internet. A GPRS phone can be used for WAP browsing, or as a modem to give faster, always-on internet access for laptop PCs - but customers are currently unimpressed. Dunstone, who built The Carphone Warehouse into Europe's largest phone retailer, told the Financial Times: "If you come into the store there is not a great deal we can give you on GPRS. "Customers don't buy technology, they buy things they can do. You can go to WAP sites but there is not really anything you are going to pay much for." This is despite the fact that 20 per cent of the handsets sold by the Carphone Warehouse are actually GPRS-ready. He said: "The problem is you have to choose an expensive tariff to use GPRS and people just don't think it's worth it." BT Cellnet, Orange and Vodafone currently offer GPRS services, but they have focused their efforts on selling the service to their corporate customers, rather than consumers who might buy their phones at retail outlets such as the Carphone Warehouse.