DoCoMo – mmO2 Confirm i-Mode
A joint press release from London and Tokyo this morning confirms the deal between DoCoMo and mmO2 for i-mode in the UK. O2 UK and O2 Ireland will have exclusive use of i-mode branding and technology in their respective markets; in Germany, O2 will launch the service based on i-mode technology under its own brand. O2 plans to introduce i-mode in the UK and Ireland during the second half of 2005. In Germany, the service will be offered from Spring 2006.
Peter Erskine, CEO of mmO2 plc, said: “Following the recent success of i-mode elsewhere in Europe and its growing subscriber base, we have conducted a thorough evaluation of the opportunities offered by licensing this technology. Of particular significance is the ARPU increase experienced by other i-mode licencees — largely driven by the combination of an intuitive, easy-to-use interface with an impressive selection of handsets and a wide-ranging content library.”
“O2 remains focused on delivering the best possible service to our customers. I look forward to a highly productive partnership with DoCoMo — marrying O2’s skills in brand, customer insight and data services with DoCoMo’s considerable research and development capabilities and strong relationships with both device and application / content providers.”