Vodafone K.K. President Shiro Tsuda said Wednesday the Japanese unit of British mobile phone service company Vodafone Group PLC will encourage its customers to shift to 3G handsets for faster data communications. “Vodafone will offer its last 2G handset next year and no more 2G later,” Tsuda said in an interview with Kyodo News.

In the Japanese mobile market, Vodafone has lagged rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp. in shifting to 3G handsets. Of some 15 million Vodafone customers, only about 300,000 are 3G handset users. Continue >>

Related posts:

1. DoCoMo Set to Shift Focus
2. KDDI: No Plan to Increase Subsidies
3. DoCoMo to Shift Global i-mode Strategy
4. Japan Carriers’ December Stats
5. Vodafone seeks revival in Japan

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to secure a local guide. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization – we been been dedicated to this space since 2001 – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry expertise and trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!