Vodafone
Vodafone

NTT DoCoMo Launches Bytemobile Optimization Solution in its Core Network

Bytemobile, the company dedicated to delivering pure, optimizedaccess to network operators, service providers and enterprises, today announced that NTT DoCoMo has deployed Bytemobile’s optimization solution in its core network to enable faster end- user access and more cost efficient delivery of applications such as web browsing and email. “The sheer volume of their data subscribers underscores the fact that NTT DoCoMo leads the world market with data services that offer a great end-user experience,” said Steve Livingston, executive vice president for Bytemobile. “We’re pleased that our optimization solution was selected for their network.” Bytemobile’s optimization solutions have been broadly deployed at more than 30 operators around the globe; the DoCoMo installation represents the first large commercial deployment in Japan.

Vodafone Prepares for Show Time

Vodafone will call together analysts and investors today to showcase its top operations in a quest to restore shaken market faith in the world’s largest international mobile phone operator. Earlier this week, the company unveiled plans for a broader 3G mobile phone launch, with seven of the 10 new multimedia handsets aimed at Japan, where Vodafone has blamed its lack of a competitive 3G handset range for eroding revenues and profits as it loses customers to rivals.

Mobile TV Rocks!

In his 14 September WWJ Viewpoint, Philip Sugai raised some valid criticisms of the new TV cell phones and points to both technological and end-user behavior limitations that he believes doom TV phones to “DOA” status. Of these, the behavioral problems appear to be the most difficult to overcome. These criticisms, however, seriously underestimate both the technological developments that the devices will undergo in the next 18-24 months as well as the imagination and creativity that Japan’s end-users and broadcasters will apply to receiving and delivering, respectively, useful content via mobile TV (and FM radio).

Part 2 of a two-part series. Previously: MobileTV: Hype or Reality?, by Professor Philip Sugai.)

Chunghwa Telecom Adopts Dilithium Networks' 3G Test Tool

Dilithium Networks, a leading provider of wireless multimedia solutions, today announced that Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) the largest telecommunications operator in Taiwan, has purchased the Dilithium Networks Analyzer (DNA) the industry-leading 3G protocol analysis and test tool. The DNA will be used for interoperability testing and standards compliance with equipment manufacturers.

DoCoMo's 3G Alliance with Cingular

NTT DoCoMo Inc. will tie up with Cingular Wireless LLC, the second-largest U.S. cellphone service company, in a bid to unify the technical specifications of 3G cellphones and services, a Japanese business daily reported Thursday. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that DoCoMo and Cingular have already entered into negotiations on forging an alliance which would become the world’s second-largest cellphone service provider with some 90 million customers after Britain’s Vodafone Group Plc.

FLASH: Vodafone's New 3G Cellys

With today’s launch of the new 902/802/702-series of 3G cellys, No. 3 carrier Vodafone has upped the stakes significantly in a major (some would say desperate) bid to re-capture market share. The phones, from Sharp, Sony Ericcson, NEC, Motorola, and Nokia, are all (except 802N) dual-mode W-CDMA/tri-band GSM and represent the first major incursion of foreign-made models into Japan’s 3G battleground. English press release here.