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FOMA

DoCoMo, J-Phone, KDDI: Keitai Catalogs Tell All

I picked up the November cell phone catalogs from several carriers the other day, including DoCoMo (for 3G FOMA), KDDI, and Tu-ka, as well as the J-Sky service catalog from J-Phone. You really needn’t look much further than these monthly catalogs if you want a concise, full-color, and neatly packaged window into the marketing plans and keitai sales hopes of the major Japanese carriers. Depending on which handset you have, you can now access data networks at 9.6, 28.8, 64, or 384 Kbps – and many devices can access two networks. Note that 64 Kbps data is available via FOMA (the 3G network) and via PHS (not formally called “2G” but certainly not 3G). Finally, there’s the Mzone WLAN service that operates at hotspots inside the Yamanote line and at a few other locations.

CTIA Notes and NEC 3G Recalls

WWJ contributor Michael Thuresson was in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week and managed to pull himself away from the one-armed bandits long enough to drop in on the CTIA “Wireless IT and Internet 2002” fall show. His report below was culled from a late-night, bleary-eyed email dispatch (italicized annotations partly contributed by me). Who says war correspondents in Kandahar have more fun than tech stringers in Vegas? 😉

Japan Carriers' Consumer Focus the Only Focus

I was sitting in the DoCoMo shop in Machida last week waiting to cancel my second PHS data card (which we rarely use since we got a home WLAN), when it suddenly occurred to me: there’s no enterprise wireless data market in Japan because the carriers — yes, the **carriers** — don’t want one. NTT DoCoMo announced that consolidated revenues from “packet communications services” (read: i-mode) reached 715,600 million yen, up **102 percent** from the year before. Clearly, revenues from wireless data are booming, and if the corporate market has not yet been tapped, just think of the riches that will flow to the likes of DoCoMo, J-Phone, and KDDI when it is.

Japan Mobile Trivia that'll Separate the Pros from the Wanna-bes

All of Japan’s carriers devote an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and resources to creating marketing and sale materials designed to entice customers, boost sales, and — let’s be frank — brag about their networks and handsets. The Big Five (NTT DoCoMo, KDDI/Au, J-Phone, DDI Pocket, and Tu-Ka) produce monthly full-color catalogs touting the latest in handsets, networks and data services, calling plans and discounts, and customer support services. DoCoMo also conveniently produces a quarterly compendium of their monthly issues in English, while KDDI makes their calling plans and discount options widely available in English, Korean, Chinese, and several other languages. We combed through several carrier brochures and extracted some gems of info that are rarely if ever mentioned by English-language press, but that help to illustrate the depth and scope of the wireless business here. Without further ado, herewith we present WWJ’s first quarterly Review of Japan Keitai Trivia. Rabid Japan wireless devotees (and you know who you are) won’t want to miss this.

Handset Heaven; An exclusive look at i-mode's Club D

Handset Heaven; An exclusive look at i-mode's Club DThis week, Wireless Watch Japan ( WWJ ) was invited by NTT DoCoMo to visit their Club D Showroom, located on the 29th floor of corporate HQ in Tokyo. We do the intro from the FOMA F1 — that’s the race car that can communicate at 384 Kbps on a test track using FOMA, we play with 504i Java and 251i i-shot handsets and tried videoconferencing with the new 3G PDA by Sharp. This programme is pure eye-candy, and is not-to-be missed for the serious 3G wireless aficionado. Boy-o-boy-o-boy… it doesn’t get much better than this folks! After buying a soda via c-mode, we ask, “Why does DoCoMo spend so big to promote its technology?”

Paying Heavy 2G Users to Stay Happy Just a Little Longer

But the most significant hidden news in this announcement may just be the fact that there are 300,000-plus extremely heavy data users already using i-mode. This means that DoCoMo has a captive, willing audience already on hook that is ripe for targeted migration to 3G. And it would appear that this audience has been woefully underexploited — FOMA had just 127,400 users on July 31. Looks like Big D will slash i-mode transmission fees on both the 2G and 3G networks starting September 1.. OK — maybe the reduction isn’t exactly a “slash,” since the 2G rate will only go from 0.3 yen per packet (128 bytes) to 0.2 yen per packet, and this reduction will only be applied after the first 100,000 packets (i.e. the first 30,000 yen of transmission fees).

DoCoMo's Hidden 9 Percent

Neale contacted DoCoMo IR, who helped clarify where the 9 percent lives in DoCoMo accounts. In the English version of the Consolidated Financial Statements (8 May 2002), under “(2) Consolidated Statements of Income” (page 16), there’s a section titled, “Operating income from other businesses.” This includes the 9 percent (Aha!!), and amounted to 45,272 million yen in FY2002.

A Guy and his DoCoMo 3G Cellphone

A Guy and his DoCoMo 3G CellphoneTakaharu Mita is just a regular guy with a DoCoMo 3G videophone — but like many early-adopters, he’s got no one with whom to hold video calls. In March, he posted his number on his “FOMA Diary” Web site and invited the world to call — anytime. Well, the world responded, and Mita-san has got a lot to say about videophones, Big D, and how society’s gonna change…

Interview with i-mode Contrarian, Part 1

Interview with i-mode Contrarian, Part 1In the first part of our Killer Interview Series with one of Tokyo’s contrarian telecoms analysts, we find out what happens to data ARPU when price-insensitive, heavy-volume users migrate to new services (like Java). The answer? It’s not a pretty sight, and the same may be in store for 3G. Plus, we cover ARPU stats, compare FOMA data usage to 2G, and reveal what generates the most packet traffic (think “self-generated content”).

Mobile for the Enterprise

Mobile for the EnterpriseThe phone is still not an “IT sale” in Japan, but we talk to one mobile application developer that is trying to effect change — and is having some success.

Hear why KDDI 3G is a better bet than DoCoMo’s FOMA for enterprise apps.