Year: <span>2005</span>
Year: 2005

Year: 2005

Vodafone Releases the V604SH

Vodafone K.K. just announced that on 19 November 2005 it will commence nationwide sales of the V604SH [ .jpg image ] entertainment handset made by Sharp, which features a 3.2 megapixel mobile camera with 2x optical zoom and auto focus, along with a built-in analog TV tuner. The V604SH also features a host of entertainment functions such as a high-quality, wide-angle view, large-size 2.4-inch Mobile ASV LCD, ‘Custom Screens’ for menu screen and icon customisation with popular characters including ones from Disney, a Music Player that supports AAC and SD-Audio MP3 music files for listening enjoyment and a ‘Motion Control Sensor’ that responds to movements for new mobile gaming experiences.

ArrayComm Announces Network MIMO for WiMAX

ArrayComm today announced its Network MIMO software that implements all antenna processing aspects of the WiMAX profiles approved by the WiMAX Forum Mobile Task Group (MTG) for IEEE 802.16e. The solution includes unique support of MIMO, AAS, and combined MIMO/AAS modes on both client devices and base stations, providing operators with the best possible user data rates, cell range, and network capacity for mobile WiMAX. At the MTG meeting in Beijing last week, the WiMAX operator and manufacturer community finalized recommendations for the profiles for interoperable implementations of IEEE 802.16e. The profiles now proceed toward ratification by the WiMAX Forum Technical Working Group and Board.

DoCoMo to Buy China-Made Handsets

NTT DoCoMo may buy cheaper handsets made in China by NEC Corp., its No. 2 supplier, to cut costs as revenue falls. The company is also offering handsets from overseas vendors such as Nokia Oyj and LG Electronics Inc. in the coming year, Chief Financial Officer Yoshiaki Ugaki said in an interview conducted on Nov. 15. Foreign-made phones can be as much as 10,000 yen ($84) cheaper than domestic handsets used on the company’s high-speed network, he said. DoCoMo expects costs to sell new handsets to rise in the fiscal second half as more customers typically upgrade or buy new phones at the end of the business and academic year in March, Ugaki said.

Vodafone Pursues Potential MVNO's

Bill Morrow, who heads Vodafone’s Japan operations, said on Wednesday the UK mobile operator was “feverishly in negotiations with quite a few” potential MVNOs. The world’s largest mobile operator by revenues wants to sign up to 10 MVNOs within two years, with the first contract expected to be signed in the next financial year. Such a deal would make Vodafone the first mobile phone network wholesaler in Japan. NTT DoCoMo and KDDI, the country’s largest mobile operators, have said they do not have enough capacity to lease their networks to MVNOs.

Japan Approves Three New Groups for 3G

Japan Approves Three New 3G CarriersBack in 1999, when I was editing Computing Japan magazine, we ran an article entitled “Third Generation Mobile: Three Groups for 3G” looking at the three groups — NTT DoCoMo, IDO-DDI (later, with KDD, KDDI) and IMT-2000 Planning Corp. (later J-Phone) — lining up for a new license. The prediction was that “success for the 3G business depends on the digital content.” Now, 7 years later, three new hopefuls are lining up in a far more mature market, and not only content but also terminals, churn, number portability and voice versus data will be significant factors.

On November 10, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would grant three new carriers licenses to operate in the 1.7 and 2 GHz bands; BB Mobile of Softbank Corp. and e-mobile of eAccess Ltd. will offer services based on W-CDMA technology while IPMobile Inc. will offer Japan’s first TD-CDMA-based services. The three are expected to launch later in 2006.

The three newcomers are entering a highly competitive market dominated by three existing incumbents: NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., which reported a collective 89.4 million subscribers as of October 31. The new players are expected to expand the variety of wireless services and pricing levels available, providing more choice and lowering costs — not least of all for terminals — according to one ministry quotation.

Faith to Launch High-Class Voce

There’s a new MVNO coming to U.S. shores called Voce, created by Faith Inc., a Japanese content provider that made its footprint in the American mobile market through its polyphonic ringtones. Voce says it will provide “first class” personalized wireless services, to become available this year, include unlimited calling, data downloads, “velvet glove” customer service, the latest technologies, and a new cell phone every four months, according to the company.