According to reports from local media, DoCoMo have applied to the Guinness Book of Records for its i-mode service as a result of the 70 million emails sent in one hour on New Year’s eve 2006. It is said that there has been no other instance when a single mobile Internet service provider has sent and received 70 million mails in one hour.
The Telecom Carriers Assoc. stats just released for February sales activity indicate that the majority of mobile phone customers in Japan have now migrated to 3G. DoCoMo added over 828,000 new 3G contracts for a total of 22 million, KDDI/au added 309,000 for 21 million and Vodafone managed to sign-up 195,000 new 3G customers for a total of just under 3 million.
Onyx Software Corporation, a worldwide leader in customer management solutions for the enterprise, today announced Onyx Employee Portal Wireless (OEP Wireless) for Japan. Part of an integrated suite of mobile enterprise CRM solutions, OEP Wireless for Japan is immediately available for Foma 3G and mova 2G Series iMode devices. Onyx’s introduction of OEP Wireless for Japan offers 45 million iMode users access to Onyx’s versatile CRM platform for delivering enhanced customer service and satisfaction. OEP Wireless for Japan increases business productivity by keeping mobile professionals connected and informed, while delivering advanced capabilities for quickly and easily managing customer and partner account, sales, service and support activities.
Sonus Networks, Inc., a leading supplier of service provider Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions, announced today that WILLCOM, Inc., a major Japanese provider of wireless data and voice services and the largest operator employing Personal Handyphone System (PHS) technology in Japan, has selected Sonus Networks as the foundation for its new nationwide long-distance network to support WILLCOM’s PHS system. This agreement marks the development of Japan’s largest VoIP network for PHS subscribers. WILLCOM will utilize key components of the Sonus solution including the GSX9000 Open Services Switch, the PSX(TM) Call Routing Server, and the Sonus Insight(TM) Management System, which includes the Element Management System (EMS).
Sanyo Electric Co. announced it will begin marketing a wireless broadband communications system it has developed jointly with Soma Networks Inc., a U.S. venture business for broadband solutions. Sanyo will initially develop and produce transmitting and receiving equipment, ground stations and other devices for the system before providing the service of creating telecom systems. Sanyo has already won an order to supply a system to a telecom operator in the Cayman Islands.
Proxim Wireless Corporation, a global provider of broadband wireless equipment and subsidiary of Terabeam, Inc., today announced that it is supplying NEC Infrontia Corp., a leading manufacturer of key telephone systems and point-of-sale (POS) systems, with the infrastructure to deploy Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless POS solutions throughout Japan in all of the locations of two large retail chains. These deployments are individually the largest retail wireless networks in both companies’ history.
Cellcom Israel Ltd. reports that it has 50,000 i-mode subscribers three months after launch. Since their i-mode roll-out in September, Cellcom has been adding content, which now includes 96 Israeli websites and access to 80,000 foreign websites. Cellcom said most new i-mode subscribers since the launch of the service use it extensively, although it should be kept in mind that most services are given free during the first months of use.
Openwave Systems announced that NEC Corp. is integrating Openwave Location Manager into NEC’s Network Assisted Location Information Solutions. Vodafone K.K. in Japan is the first customer to select the combined solution. Openwave and NEC’s location solution is in compliance with the pre-standard Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) standard currently under consideration by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The solution integrates Openwave Location Manager’s Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) with NEC’s SUPL positioning server to provide a high-accuracy, Assisted GPS (A-GPS) offering that enables location-based services for both the consumer and enterprise markets. The combined solution also incorporates an access management feature to protect subscriber privacy at both the mobile handset and application levels.
They have full-fledged Web browsers, and they even have fingerprint readers and cameras with face-recognition software that locks up a phone if an unwanted stranger tries to use it. Interested in getting one? Good luck. You essentially can’t buy one outside Japan.
Editor’s comment: This article is a good review of why Japan keitai are the world’s best, underscoring Editor-in-Chief Daniel Scuka’s comments earlier this week in the WWJ newsletter (click here to subscribe for free).
NEC Corporation announced that its High Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) is ready to be delivered for use in commercial networks worldwide. The successful field network operation trial for NEC’s HSDPA was carried out this summer through the cooperation of Vodafone K.K. in Japan. During the trial, Node-Bs and radio network controllers (RNC) based on NEC’s HSDPA achieved a high level of performance and functionality, including high-speed internet access among HSDPA-based 3G mobile terminals, consecutive data transmission and handover in a HSDPA service environment and flexible and variable change in transmission speed.
