Shares of KDDI Corp., Japan’s second- largest mobile-phone operator, rose 2.4 percent after the company said users are spending more on services such as high-speed access to the Internet and video clip services. KDDI yesterday said users spent an average of 36 percent more each month in the April to June period as they sent text messages, surfed the Internet and viewed video clips.
KTF Co, the No.2 mobile operator, said earnings fell about 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2003 because of higher interest payments and one-off charges. Smaller rival LG Telecom saw its net profit plunge 57 percent because of higher operating costs.
KDDI and Okinawa Cellular Telephone will reduce communications fees for GLOBAL PASSPORT – an international roaming service that enables au mobile phones to be used in Japan as well as overseas – by up to 53% effective August 1. In addition, GLOBAL PASSPORT is scheduled to launch in Thailand in cooperation with the Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) on August 8, and in Taiwan with Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless Communications Inc. (APBW), a mobile service operator, as soon as preparations are completed.
Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s largest mobile-phone company, said customers at its mobile-phone unit in Japan spent an average of 4.3 percent less in the first quarter on their monthly phone bills. Customers of Vodafone’s J-Phone Co. spent an average of 6,980 yen in the three months ended June 30, down from 7,290 yen a month in the same period a year earlier.
Vodafone Chief Executive Chris Gent steps down next week after more than 17 years at the mobile phone titan, lowering the curtain on the last of the old guard of Europe’s shaken telecoms industry. Gent, 55, is one of the few chief executives whose reputation remains largely unscathed in a market where heads rolled and big-name firms sought financial rescue after one of the most dramatic share price falls on record.
AT&T Wireless today announced agreements with Nortel Networks and Ericsson to deploy what is expected to be the first commercial W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple band Access) wireless network in North America. The W-CDMA network can support high speed VPN access, audio and video applications, as well as advanced location-based and m-Commerce features.
