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eAccess to Borrow DoCoMo Network

Japan’s eAccess Ltd. said on Monday its wireless unit will borrow its bigger rival NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s network to offer a nationwide cellphone service. eAccess’ mobile unit will roam on DoCoMo’s network in areas outside the major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. The agreement will helps eAccess launch a nationwide voice service in March 2008 before completing its own network. Prior to the nationwide mobile phone service, eAccess aims to offer wireless data service in March 2007.

Rating Cut Hits SoftBank Shares

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined, led by Softbank Corp. after Credit Suisse Group cut its rating on the stock, citing a drop in the value of the company’s investments and its mobile phone business. Softbank shares slid 65 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 2,245. Hitoshi Hayakawa, a Tokyo-based analyst at Credit Suisse cut his rating to underperform from neutral. Softbank’s measures to improve the mobile business are not enough to justify a 1 trillion yen ($8.6 billion) premium, Hayakawa said.

New DoCoMo Corporate Video

NTT DoCoMo have posted a new corporate video, “The Keitai as Lifestyle Infrastructure.” Their PR email said the video introduces “… our plan to create new revenue sources.” As if they need any..! Access the programme here: http://www.nttdocomo.com/features/keitai.html.

Yozan Testing WiMax in Hokuriku

Yozan has set up a WiMAX feasibility test in the Hokuriku region in Japan building on their previously announced Tokyo network, valued at $16.7 million, to deliver high-speed IP connectivity capable of a wide array of data service offerings. Hokuriku is typical of Japan’s mountainous regions in which it will be more challenging to implement WiMAX infrastructure.

NEC Joins KDDI's Corporate WLAN Offering

KDDI has issued a follow-up to their spring announcement regarding the dual-mode CDMA 1x and corporate WLAN network service offering. The corporate mobile business solution service, or so-called “Office Freedom” campaign, will now also use NEC’s Univerge SV7000 for SIP access point hardware, with the E02SA BREW handset from Sanyo. DoCoMo have also been working in this area over the last few years to provide major corporate clients, such as Toyota and JAL, the in-house VoIP ability using NEC’s 900iL handset.

DoCoMo's Fuel Cell for Mobile Devices

The Fuel Cell Development Information Center (FCDIC) recently held a seminar titled “Dawn of the age of fuel cell for mobile devices” with lecturers were invited from leading companies involved in fuel cell development such as NTT DoCoMo, Inc., NEC Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi, Ltd. and Canon Inc. In the lecture, the company mentioned not just the basic performance as a power source for mobile devices but also specific requirements with respect to reliability and safety in actual usage.