Emobile launched its so-called “Mobile Broadband” services, 16-months after the ministry awarded their new license, at an opening ceremony held at Bic Camera’s Yurakucho store in Tokyo this weekend. The company put two debut models on sale: its keyboard-equipped EM ONE terminal by Sharp (details here), which allows users to connect at HSDPA speed and view 1Seg digital tv broadcasting, and a card-type model for laptop computers.
InnoPath announced that EMOBILE has selected their Integrated Mobile Device Management Solution (iMDM) to deliver over-the-air firmware updates and configuration management. EMOBILE will be deploying InnoPath’s Firmware Manager allowing for software and firmware updates, in addition to offering its Configuration Manager enabling remote configuration of settings and new services; both applications being offered over-the-air, in real time. With this announcement, the company now has agreements tied with KDDI, Softbank, and eMobile and license agreements with several of the handset manufacturers which are sold under the DoCoMo brand.
eMobile announced their debut package offering – complete with terminals, data cards and flat-rate HSDPA price plan – today at a Tokyo press conference with company representatives joined by notable industry partners including Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, Darren Huston, CEO of Microsoft Japan, and Masafumi Matsumoto, representative director from Sharp. The upstart carrier’s founder, chairman and CEO, Sachio Semmoto (who was co-founder of DDI, which became KDDI), called their newly introduced Sharp EM-One smartphone, “the next-generation mobile broadband device” – which was “designed to deliver always-on broadband at a reasonable monthly flat-rate price.”
The new Sharp terminal is bound to be popular with the same crowd who lined-up to get Willcom’s Zero3 model, also made by Sharp, in late 2005. The EM-One is a touch-screen qwerty-keyboard dual-slider device sporting a 4-inch LCD screen with Japan’s first WVGA (800×480)-resolution screen and Windows Mobile 5.0 (with all the typical office functions). At only 18mm thin, it even comes ready to watch 1Seg digital TV broadcasts and – according to the specs – the unit sports a Marvell PXA270 cpu running at 520MHz with 512MB of Flash memory and 128MB RAM. Perhaps most interesting are the rather agressive price plans, which bundle the device with fixed- and mobile-broadband connection services to attract new customers.
The company also announced four new data cards including a PC Card unit produced by NEC and a USB design coming from Huawei, which will run on the same high-speed network and tabehoudai all-you-can-eat billing model. The new services will be available starting 31 March in five major population areas including Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and Kyoto. More details after the jump.
It’s been a rather hectic few weeks here, as mentioned at the end of our latest WWJ Newsletter, so we thought a chocolate covered bundle of tidbits would be in order today. With 3GSM running this week in Barcelona, on top of the usual post January speed cycle, we’ve clipped over a dozen highlights together for a sweetheart ‘Valentines Eve’ post chalk full of wireless news goodies collected over the last little while, just for you after the jump.
eMobile has introduced its new corporate logo along with a deployment schedule to commence mobile operations in March 2007. The company was allocated spectrum in the 1.7-GHz band and will initally offer services, only via HSDPA data cards, in major population areas of Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo. Their plan calls for agressive network infrastructure development, at an estimated $2 bn, and providing embedded smartphone devices by fiscal 2008.
Chinese top telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies clinched a deal with Japanese mobile operator eMobile to deploy an all Internet Protocol (IP)-based radio-access network. Initially, Huawei will help eMobile deploy the network around the cities of Sendai, Sapporo and Hiroshima. The deal with eMobile is the first for Huawei in Japan.
eMobile, a subsidiary of eAccess Ltd., announced today it has successfully completed another round of equity financing with an additional 27.3 billion yen new capital. Following this transaction, the total paid-in capital (capital shares and capital reserve) of eMobile will reach 143.2 billion yen (capital shares: 71.75 billion yen), and eAccess’ ownership in eMobile will be 46.2%. Together with the recent announcement of the project finance transaction of 220 billion yen, eMobile has secured a combined equity and debt capital of over 360 billion yen. The total capital raised should fully satisfy the funding requirement of eMobile’s business plan, according to a company statement released today.
EAccess Ltd. said on Wednesday its mobile unit will raise 42 billion yen ($359 million) from issuing new shares, while the unit has also secured a 220 billion yen credit line from banks. Under the agreement, the mobile unit, eMobile Ltd., will issue new shares totaling 28 billion yen on April 25. EAccess is one of three firms to be awarded mobile licences by the Japanese government last year. The deal is the largest nonrecourse project-finance loan in Japan for a company whose services have not begun yet, according to EAccess.
eMobile, a new entrant to the Japanese 3G market, has selected Ericsson as the prime supplier of its new W-CDMA/HSDPA network. The agreement involves W-CDMA 1.7GHz radio networks in the most
populated areas of Japan, such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and a complete nationwide core network, including Ericsson’s service-aware packet core and mobile softswitch solution. Fast roll-out will enable eMobile, a subsidiary company of eAccess, to launch commercial services in March 2007.
Mark Newman, from Informa, has an interesting take on Vodafone’s opportunity in Japan; Vodafone president Bill Morrow has already said the company is talking to as many as 30 potential MVNOs. Japanese and international entertainment companies, local retailers and established MVNOs, such as Virgin Mobile, are likely to be among the 30 names, but eMobile and BB Mobile would be much bigger customers. Judging from the impact of MVNOs in Europe, Vodafone’s strategy is likely to have profound implications for all Japanese operators.
