Next-generation telephone services — collectively: 3G — are finally turning the corner on profitability in Japan after years of loss-making investment. Pyramid Research says this will the the year for high speed telephone data networks in Japan as subscribers are beginning to buy seriously into 3G technology.
Telstra expects more than one million Australians will pay $500 for new handsets, plus an extra $10-$17 per month for content, when the telco launches its own version of the i-mode mobile phone content service before Christmas. The Australian carrier became the first telco in the English-speaking world to sign up with the Japanese telco, NTT DoCoMo, which claims 41 million subscribers for the service in its own country.
NTT DoCoMo and Telstra Corp. Australia, today announced they have formed an exclusive strategic partnership under which Telstra will launch i-mode® in Australia. Signed today, the agreement licenses Telstra to offer the i-mode service with DoCoMo providing its brand, technology and patents.
ACCESS, a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced that its NetFront v3.0 microbrowser is now available for QUALCOMM’s BREW(R) solution. With NetFront for BREW, mobile operators and handset manufacturers will have access to the some of the most advanced mobile browsing technology in the world. The company announced the product at the BREW 2004 Developers Conference being held June 7-9 in San Diego, California.
NEC’s Mobile Internet Platform and i-mode Mobile Handset to Operate at COSMOTE i-mode Service in Greece. NEC Corporation and its subsidiary NEC Italia s.r.l today announced the delivery of its Mobile Internet Platform and mobile handsets to COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications S.A.’s “i-mode(r)” service, which will be provided commercially, with an initial free period, from 7 June 2004. NEC has achieved rapid implementation in cooperation with COSMOTE, so that the i-mode service can be launched well in advance of the “Athens 2004” Olympic Games, of which COSMOTE is a Grand National Sponsor.
DigitaLife ’04, a consumer electronics exhibition to be held in the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, will offer patrons the ability to carry their wallets, digitally, inside their mobile phones. Upon purchase of their tickets, visitors will be able to carry their event tickets, business cards, ShowCash debit cards and a loyalty card, all in their phones. Tickets will be issued via SMS, and ID cards saved as address book entries. These tickets and ID cards can then be scanned, as if they were physically presented in their paper or plastic form.
