3G
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3G

DoCoMo 3G FOMA May Go Flat Rate

If the report is true, what we’ve been predicting for months is proving correct, with KDDI building up incredible momentum over the last quarter, DoCoMo, despite statements to the contrary has been forced to protect subscriber growth on FOMA. Here it is; the Nikkei has reported that DoCoMo is planning to introduce flat rate data charges “as early as the middle of this year.” Because it’s Saturday, and because it’s the Nikkei, we can’t be sure, so we’ll have to adopt the wire service caveat of “the paper said, without quoting sources.” According to the Nikkei, DoCoMo’s flat-rate the packet data charges on FOMA 3G services first and then move this to HSDPA next year.

Mobile Intelligence Tour Announced

The Wireless Watch Japan Media Project will co-produce the Mobile Intelligence Tour (MIT) to Tokyo from 12-16 April 2004, promising to be one of this year’s premiere events for extracting business intelligence from the Japan mobile market. MIT aims to expose participants to the best and brightest individuals and companies making mobile work in Japan, the world’s No. 1 wireless market, and will include highly focussed company briefings, presentations, visitations, end-user demonstrations, access to local experts, and industry-related social events.

SK Telecom Selects Gemplus' USIM Card for 3G

Gemplus International S.A., the world’s leading provider of smart card based solutions, today announced its selection by SK Telecom, the leading provider of mobile telecommunications in Korea, to deliver USIM card technology for the commercial launch of its 3G W-CDMA network. The Gemplus "GemXplore 3G" USIM cards deployed for SK Telecom support all three primary networks currently available: 3G W-CDMA, CDMA 2000 1X and GSM. They also support WIM (Wireless Internet Module) as an additional security feature for WAP based mobile commerce transactions and the VSDC (VISA Smart Debit Credit) application by VISA International for the world’s first mobile proximity payment service on USIM card, MONETA.

Beyond 3G Networks with Lucent Mobility

Lucent has deployed more than 90,000 spread-spectrum base stations and has enabled more than 50,000 base stations in networks worldwide to support 3G CDMA2000 services, far more than any other equipment vendor. They have also deployed commercial 3G networks for more than 25 mobile operators in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Australia and New Zealand region. An interesting interview with Lucent Mobility CTO Paul Mankiewich.

NEC 3G FOMA 900i Launches Feb. 22

The model that many customers have been waiting for, NEC’s version of the 900i, are to go on sale on Feb. 22, NEC and DoCoMo said today. Meanwhile, DoCoMo has said it’s going to show FOMA off at the 3GSM World Congress 2004 in France next week with a direct link to Japan. Excitement is growing about the 900i series, with informal impressions collected by WWJ, plus hard evidence that we’ve heard from InfoPLANT indicating that NEC’s 900i could be a smash hit.

Vodafone KK: J-Phone Not Lost in Translation?

Those watching this week’s video program will get to see what a howler Bow-Lingual is on Vodafone’s new V610SH handset from Sharp. We are just itching to find out if the same inventive and creative genius that seemed to permeate the old J-Phone can re-establish itself in 2004 at Vodafone KK. A recent study shows that, as we suspected, the Japanese public is going gangbusters for TV mobile phones. Having developed Japan’s first TV celly, the former J-Phone Corps have proven, yet again, they were ahead of the curve in understanding what customers want. But it is also apparent that Vodafone KK will need more than highly entertaining doggy gimmicks if it is to stop losing market share to KDDI and DoCoMo’s 3G services.