3G
3G

3G

Vodaphone K.K. Fun with 3G Numbers

What’s up with all the analysis of Vodafone recently? The slow uptake of its W-CDMA service and failure to keep up with Au/ KDDI’s cdma1x/WIN service in terms of new subscribers has some press and analysts questioning the carrier’s strategy. But let’s look at the larger picture: Vodafone had 93,200 subscribers at the end of November — its first year of 3G service. That’s hardly a “ringing” endorsement of VGS (Vodafone Global Standard.) On the other hand, it’s not bad at all for a service which has not had the benefit of a high-profile promotional campaign. In fact, Vodafone has only put out a few low-key displays at official shops. In contrast, NTT DoCoMo had 142,400 subscribers at the same point in the life of FOMA and it had been promoting FOMA every chance it could. Now it has decent handsets at bargain prices and a network that it claims covers 99.6 percent of Japan’s population, DoCoMo is adding about 300,000 subscribers per month. So let’s not forget that it’s really still very early days for Vodafone.

Motorola to Adopt China's 3G Standard?

Looking to cement its current lead in the China cellphone market, Motorola said Monday that it is considering tie-ups with Chinese firms to develop 3G handsets that use China’s TD-SCDMA standard. In a telephone interview with Reuters, Motorola’s director of global strategy on 3G, Bob Schukai said that if China does adopt the domestically-developed TD-SCDMA, Motorola’s best business plan would be working through local partnership deals to draw on local expertise.

DoCoMo to Expand 3G Service Area

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that beginning December 6, 2003, the service area for DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G mobile phones will cover 99.4% of the population in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region. Its eight regional subsidiaries will also expand FOMA service to an area encompassing approximately 98% of the nationwide population by the end of December. DoCoMo will continue to enlarge its FOMA service area, targeting 99% coverage of Japan’s population by the end of March 2004.

3G Taking Off, DoCoMo Develops FOMA Wireless LAN Phone

Just got news out from DoCoMo today that Big D has developed its first WLAN FOMA module. Details are sketchy at the moment, with official information we could find limited to a single statement in Japanese. However, the IEEE802.11b compatible clamshell weighs 123g and is 103 mm long by 53 mm wide. DoCoMo has yet to release other specs, or say when the phone is going to be on the market, but a big move for WLAN-FOMA has been on the cards ever since Big D announced it was trailing a FOMA-WLAN network at Japan’s gateway to the world- Narita Airport, with Japan Airlines this June. Meanwhile FOMA added a record 334,000 subscribers in October, underpinning the impression that 3G is finally flying. Could the next batch of FOMA cellies, out in February 04 have WLAN? The news comes on top of a recent report on DoCoMo by CSFB’s Mark Berman appropriately titled 2004: The Year of 3G, predicting FOMA subscriber growth surging to a million a month…

DoCoMo to offer Linux-based 3G phones

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile operator, aims to offer 3G handsets that run on the Linux-based operating system as early as the second half of 2004, according to a source close to the firm. NEC Corp, one of the core handset suppliers for DoCoMo, said it aimed to offer Linux-based handsets by the end of 2004.