Vodafone K.K. today said it plans an extensive series of upgrades to its 3G network so that the Vodafone group’s Japanese outpost will have 99.6% population coverage by the end of May. This begs the question, where are the new terminals that are needed to really pull in the subscribers?
After the May 7 release of NTT DoCoMo’s full-year FY 2003 financial results, Tokyo analysts, financial consultants, and investment gurus have been churning out a steady stream of opinion and forecasts. After reporting stunning net profits of Y650 bn (about US$5.71 bn), at least some analysts predict the company is on track to return to the Y1-trillion operating profit level in FY 2004, ending 31 March 2005 (have any outside Japan achieved similar?). Among the more interesting gems: 2G average revenue per user (ARPU) was Y7,470 (Y5,570 voice, Y1,900 data; data was 25% of total) in 4Q2004, while 3G ARPU was Y10,360 (Y6,960 voice, Y3,400; data was 33% of total) for the same period. Clearly, 3G rocks! But that’s not all — read on for the predictions on how new, flat-rate data pricing will affect profits in FY2004.
NTT, the majority shareholder of DoCoMo, is set to announce the appointment of Masao Nakamura as the new president of Japan’s largest mobile operator in a move that is expected to increase the influence of its parent company and shift the mobile group’s focus to the domestic market. Until recently, DoCoMo had been widely expected to pick Shiro Tsuda, also a senior executive vice-president, to replace Keiji Tachikawa, the group’s president for the past six years.
UPDATE: It’s official Masao Nakamura is set to become President and CEO.
Vodafone’s answer to 3.5G and NTT DoCoMo’s HSDPA will be trailed here later this year. Vodafone will be conducting fast low-latency access with seamless handoff Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (Flash OFDM) trials in the second half of the year in Tokyo that will test the ability to run 3Mbps wireless data networks.
NTT DoCoMo today announced the company’s consolidated financial results (NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and subsidiaries) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Operating revenues were 5,048.1 billion yen (up 5% year-on-year), operating income was 1,102.9 billion yen (up 4.4% year-on-year), income before income taxes was 1,101.1 billion yen (up 5.6% year-on-year) and net income was 650.0 billion yen (up 205.9% year-on-year).
It’s been a year or so, but finally Vodafone K.K. is attempting an aggressive rollout of impressive (albeit) 2/2.5G handset terminals clearly aimed at fun– and the young. Over the next couple of months the company is adding 5 terminals [.pdf here], including the new V602 from Sharp and V601 from Toshiba that have mulitimedia features even more impressive than those aboard DoCoMo 900i series, as well as an improved radio phone from Sanyo and a clearer TV picture from Sharp. Better still, last week’s news that Vodafone has decided to adopt a FeliCa compatible removable solution for contactless payments shows the company is definitely on board with promoting the mobile phone away from a communications/ game device into become a viable e-commerce tool not only here in Japan, but potentially accross the vast Vodafone empire.
