DoCoMo Far EasTone 3G Taiwan Launch
DoCoMo is pushing its blend of W-CDMA into Taiwan with Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., according to a press release today, with Big-D tightening up EasTone’s network from next week to September this year.
CDMA
Vodafone K.K. Offers Global Mail, Japan's First International MMS Service
Vodafone K.K. announced that from March 18 it will offer Global Mail, a new service that enables customers to exchange multimedia messages (MMS) such as Sha-mail and Movie Sha-mail with overseas subscribers who have compatible handsets on participating networks.
KDDI vs. DoCoMo: FOMA Forging On?
Last Friday’s monthly report released by the Telecommunications Carriers Association contained more grief for NTT DoCoMo’s 3G planners: While the carrier’s FOMA subscriber base grew by a healthy 15% in February, bolstered no doubt by the 900i-series handsets, KDDI yet again handily beat DoCoMo. While we aren’t reviewing our measure of confidence in the 900i-series, even after Big D admitted that the “best 3G phones in the world” were suffering from software bugs and had to recall nearly 70,000 Fujitsu handsets, we do note that NTT DoCoMo in Kyushu ‘fessed up last Friday to padding its subs figures so as to avoid the distinction of being the first DoCoMo sales region to actually suffer a (Gasp! Grrr!) net decrease in subscribers, according to Kyodo.
DoCoMo's Paradigm: Flat Rate Forces Shift
Last Friday’s NTT DoCoMo press briefing was an eye-opener as President Keichi Tachikawa hinted at the tectonic changes reshaping Japan’s mobile data market. After reviewing the company’s stance on US W-CDMA launch after the AT&T Wireless sale, he offered some insight into the giant carrier’s plans for dealing with the the flat-rate data pricing “paradigm shift” instituted, he alleged, “too early” by an unnamed player (which would be arch rival KDDI). Finishing after just 10 minutes, Tachikawa’s comments were brief, but the ensuing half hour of Q&A with the press offered a golden opportunity to quiz the prez on these and other issues—including e-commerce, 3G subscriber numbers, and FOMA handsets. If you want to know what Japan’s #1 mobile operator is thinking, don’t miss this program. Program Run-time 20:17
Vodafone KK Launches 3G PC Datacard
Vodafone KK will introduce after late April the VC701SI Vodafone Connect Card, a datacard compatible with its 3G W-CDMA network in Japan. Capable of modem and communication functions, the VC701SI, manufactured by Seiko Instruments, is Vodafone’s first 3G CompactFlash (CF) card data terminal.
i-Mode's Owner in Hold Mode on Cingular
At last week’s regular press conference, DoCoMo president Keichi Tachikawa managed to confirm most of what we wrote about in last week’s WWJ Viewpoint DoCoMo: New 3G Plans for USA?. Most importantly, someone in the U.S. is still obligated to roll out third-gen W-CDMA services because this was grandfathered into DoCoMo’s original contract with AT&T Wireless. Tachikawa said last week that the phones have already been ordered! However, DoCoMo is still in hold mode about how it will approach the purchase of its stake in AT&T Wireless Services by Cingular Wireless LLC (should the deal be approved later in the year). One option on the table is for DoCoMo to invest in Cingular.