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Unlimited Wireless Internet!
Need wireless Internet access for your upcoming trip to Japan? Order online now and have your own personal portable wifi hotspot ready in time for your arrival! Find out more...
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DOCOMO |
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> 58.79m |
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AU |
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> 33.53m |
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SOFTBANK |
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> 26.62m |
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EMOBILE |
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> 3.5m |
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PHS |
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> 4.1m |
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TOTAL |
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> 123.04m | |
OTHERS
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W-MODULE: |
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> 5.39m |
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PREPAY: |
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> 1.27m |
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BWA (UQ): |
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> 1.16m |
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TOTAL |
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> 7.82m | |
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Updated 9/7/2011 |
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for February 16-20, 2004 |
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3G MOBILE LAUNCHES J-STYLE/ NOKIA 3G IN JAPAN? / JAPAN BB / IMODE GLOBAL... |
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3G MOBILE LAUNCHES, J-STYLE
As the global wireless industry is wheeling and dealing toward hefty front-page corporate consolidation, Japanese network operators and device manufacturers have been steadily launching a stream of advanced telecom gadgets, 3G and otherwise, in the unified and synchronized manner that exemplifies the J. market and sets it apart from many others. DoCoMo's most recent 3G FOMA "900i" series of handsets came in a highly orchestrated, coordinated launch style with devices from 5 manufacturers (er, should be 6--where's the SONY ERICSSON!?), all incorporating special feature upgrades that collectively market the FOMA service as a whole - including 2 megapixel cameras, fingerprint sensors, external memory cards, motion video download, high speed, longer battery life and more. Net result: consumers know what FOMA is, and that it is something cool they want to check out. Even if you don't know Japanese, you should check them out too on the flashy Flash site devoted to these slick devices at 900i.
NOKIA 3G IN JAPAN?
Nokia also reported it is talking to DoCoMo to join the 3G line-up. If it happens, it will be the first DoCoMo Nokia since the classic sliding NM502i (launched in March 2000), now a mobile museum collectible. It will also be interesting to see Nokia march in lockstep to the same development drumbeat as the other Japanese handset manufacturers, dictated by DoCoMo, quite the opposite of Nokia's reputed relationship with operators elsewhere in the world (where it dominates, that is). We expect a Nokia 3G phone will be a distinctively "foreign" addition to the FOMA line-up.
JAPAN BB
Once again, Japan is steaming ahead with broadband. Japan's DSL subscribers exceeded 10.6 million in January, led in gains by upstart Yahoo! BB, which gained 122,000 to hold its market share at 36%. MMJ is watching broadband closely, as it is soon to become another key media pipeline in Japan's data infrastructure, and a delivery channel for more integrated content services.
IMODE GLOBAL...
This past week had two international stories with a Japan angle worth looking at. DoCoMo may be wondering where the Cingular buyout of ATTW leaves its international strategy, but it is a lot happier not to see its $10 billion cash investment being sold off at a 30% discount to rival Vodafone (which has previously styled itself the 'NTT DoCoMo of the global market'). Still, the potentially brighter outlook on the Cingular acquisition (DoCoMo may still collaborate on 3G development in the US) must still somehow clear away the haze that hung around its partnership with ATTW (which did not use the DoCoMo i-mode brand exactly...will DoCoMo/i-mode ever acquire a real international footprint, or just a paw print? ). Meanwhile, the KPN group announced its sale of 1 million i-mode handsets in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, two years after launch, with Vodafone gaining about twice as many users in half the time. MMJ has some good strategic advice for DoCoMo, but they will have to come and ask us for it...
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for January 31-February 4, 2004 |
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Korea/Japan Mobile Broacasting / Hello Mobile Spam! |
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Giles Richter, MMJ
Korean mobile operators have reasserted their commitment to advanced multimedia services with the announced launch of data broadcasting services to mobile phones. Mobile Broadcasting Corp and Korea's SK Telecom Co Ltd will both begin services in July broadcasting multiple channels of audio and video programming to mobile devices from a jointly owned communications satellite.
To some this may look simply like a way of hanging another function on a phone so it can be used just as a portable radio or TV. Japan mobile watchers know that the significance of this trend is potentially much bigger, as broadcast services are linked to mobile content services so that users can seamlessly purchase content via their phones (ringtones or wallpaper) after watching or hearing about it via mobile broadcast programming. Japan's Vodafone KK mobile TV is not networked in this way, but KDDI's mobile FM radio-enabled Sanyo is.
This kind of functionality may be a bit far off in markets like the US, where the emphasis is on whether users really want to watch mobile TV/video on their phone, and what the battery drain is. The future direction of mobile broadcasting will be toward enhanced mobile shopping both for digital content and other products and services.
Hello Mobile Spam - You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet
Reuters is reporting on the growth of SMS-based mobile spam in Asia. Mobile spam is old news in Japan, where the early arrival of IP-based email 4 years ago opened up an entirely new frontier for marketers and purveyors of spam.
SMS-based spam is still one shade less unpleasant than mobile email spam, since at least the spammer bears the cost of sending the junk. Japanese mobile email is billed to the packet data fee of the recipient unless sent through special authorized free messaging channels--which is rarely used by spammers.
In both cases, users are the victims, and despite outward concerns over corporate image, mobile phone operators are the *biggest* beneficiaries, collecting millions and billions of dollars for transport data fees. And they are also the sole gatekeepers of their data networks with the capability to protect their users from spam assault.
It was not until public and legal pressure was placed on Japanese operators that they started taking steps to protect customers, such as educating users, or giving users the ability to filter out Internet-originating email or email from blacklisted domains from reaching their phones. In addition, anti-spam laws similar to those on the Internet that allow the prosecution of ISPs or messaging enablers that carry spam are a necessary tool for cracking down and protecting customers.
SMS spam is also pretty tame compared to mobile email spam, which can trigger all kinds of nasty behavior on smart mobile phones, like dialing the police or fee-based numbers when a user clicks on trick URLs.
Japan has been relatively tame in this way, but the spam plot is likely to thicken as the tech level of phones globally rises and mobile users become more vulnerable to MyDoom-like messages.
Stay tuned! And remember MMJ Headlines is an opt-in service, soon to be available via your mobile!
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for September 19-26, 2003 |
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Vodafone's tv-cellphone / KDDI's radio-phone / NEC's hybrid speaker-screen |
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By Kevin J. Smith, Mobile Media Japan, Tokyo
This week in Japan we saw the second and third largest carriers, KDDI and Vodafone, step up their bids to capture the next "big app" for mobile. Vodafone will introduce a tv-cellphone product to the mobile market, hoping to repeat the kind of success it showed with its pioneering camera-phone service. But will KDDI's new FM radio service steal the spotlight? We are also seeing continued innovation in the area of cell-phone sound systems with a product from NEC Corp that turns the mobile LCD screen into a speaker.
Vodafone's Japanese mobile unit developing tv-cellphone for December launch
Vodafone K.K. plans launch cellphones featuring a built-in television tuner as early as December. The new service would be the first of its kind in Japan, and none of Vodafone's rivals currently have plans to introduce a mobile television service. Vodafone was the world's first company to offer mobile phones with a built-in digital camera function, creating a global trend so popular that virtually every new handset model for the Japanese market now includes a camera. The idea of TV in phones raises questions about how this strategy will relate to Vodafonefs yet-to-be launched 3G services, which are anticipated to feature downloadable movies on phones.
Japan's KDDI to launch cell phone FM radio service soon
Japan's KDDI Corp. is set to launch a new service to enable subscribers to enjoy FM radio programs on their mobile phones. Joining with 53 FM radio stations, KDDI will kick off the operation later this year and present mobile phones equipped with tuners. Subscribers will need to insert earphones into their mobile phones to listen to the programs. The service will be free of charge, but payment is required if subscribers want to download music as ringing melody. The direct linkage between radio broadcast services and downloadable music on mobile terminals will showcase the low cost of delivering music via conventional broadcast networks, while leveraging the handset as a personalized purchase, delivery and playback device.
Turning Mobile Phone Screens into Speakers
Authentic Ltd, a subsidiary of NEC Corp of Japan involved in the development of acoustic products, has miniaturized the SoundVu slat speaker system which emits sound by vibrating the front panel of an LCD. The new SoundVu design is a bit larger than two inches in the diagonal and only 5mm thick. The firm's prior SoundVu product was announced in fall 2002, and used in NEC's Valuestar FS and T series of desktop personal computers. The model has attracted considerable attention on the market with its ability to emit sound from its LCD screen.
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for November 9-September 18, 2003 |
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PHS to China/ DoCoMo bug fixing / Japan Hotspots heat up |
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By Kevin J. Smith, Mobile Media Japan, Tokyo
This week in Japan, domestic handset manufacturers showed more signs of moving their PHS operations to China, NTT DoCoMo continued its rollout of initiatives geared toward streamlining its network and defending its market share, and Intel Corp announced its goal to double the amount of Wireless Access Points in Japan by December of this year.
PHS Manufacturers Eye China as Domestic Market "Matures"
As the domestic PHS market reaches saturation, and in the face of a maturing market in which income from calling plans is leveling off, telecommunications equipment manufacturers are looking increasingly to shift their PHS operations to China. The moves come at a time when local Japanese operators are cooling to the PHS business, with NTT DoCoMo freezing the development of new PHS handsets, and KDDI Corp negotiating with Kyocera Corp and others to sell its subsidiary, leading PHS operator DDI Pocket Inc. But MMJ thinks PHS is hot stuff, a seriously unvalued connectivity solution that only looks outmoded because Japan is already talking about 4G and ubiquity. But there is still plenty of growth for PHS elsewhere.
NTT DoCoMo to fix bugs via Wireless Patching Network
By 2004, NTT DoCoMo will adopt a new system for fixing handset software bugs, which have plagued Japanese operators and handset manufacturers increasingly since the launch of mobile Internet services.
The new patch system will rely on users to fix handset problems themselves over-the-air by downloading a patch, similar to the update function offered by Microsoft for Windows. The solution is expected cut costs and reduce expensive recalls, which require users to bring or send the handset to a retail store for repair or replacement. DoCoMo’s new system will use data transmitted at low bandwidths, with the bug-fixing programs compressed and distributed to patch the software problems on the phones. The move is a first among Japanese operators, and coming from the market leader, it sounds like a loud acknowledgement that the leading mobile market is likely to see more fancy-yet-buggy handset in the future, so why not be prepared...hold on to your handsets!
Wireless Access points in Japan to double by December
Intel Corp, the world’s biggest computer-chip maker, expects the number of cafes, airports and other areas where consumers can get wireless access to the internet in Japan to double by December. The number of hotspots will double to 7,000 by the end of the year from about 3,500, according to Greg Pearson, co-president of Intel’s Japan business. Intel is spending US$300 million globally this year to promote its new Centrino chips that allow notebook users wireless access to the Internet. The company is betting that as users flip open their notebooks and sip their lattes while surfing the Web in cafes around Japan, demand will rise for mobile computers with wireless capabilities. Intel expects that by 2005, 80 percent of notebooks sold will be able to access the Internet without having to plug into fixed access points. Demand for wireless access will help spur global notebook sales by 15 percent this year, said Pearson.
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for September 5-10, 2003 |
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DoCoMo Local Strategies / KDDI GPS in Thailand / Taito and Nokia |
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By Kevin J. Smith, Mobile Media Japan, Tokyo
This week in Japan saw NTT DoCoMo make a number of moves to salvage faltering subscriber numbers. Meanwhile KDDI stepped up its international profile by acquiring the contract from Hutchinson CAT to construct a gpsOne system in Thailand. Finally, we saw a deepening of collaboration between content providers and hardware manufacturers to offer various new types of content, including Cell Phone Karaoke.
NTT DoCoMo’s latest competitive strategy
Call discounts
In an effort to increase 3G FOMA uptake, DoCoMo declared that effective October 1, 2003, all “Yu Yu” Call discounts of up to 30% will be extended to include 3G FOMA videophone, M-stage V-Live video streaming or M-stage Visual Net videoconferencing for calls to designated phone numbers . The Yu Yu Call discount service has been available for both 2G mova and FOMA voice calls for a basic monthly fee of 180 Japanese yen. 30% is deducted from call charges to designated DoCoMo numbers, and a 10% discount applies to calls to designated non-DoCoMo numbers and fixed-line phones. The move by DoCoMo is aimed to encourage users to explore the fun and benefits of video calling. A video call on FOMA is on average 65% more expensive to make than a voice call, hence DoCoMo can generate more revenues per call per minute.
Rollover minutes
NTT DoCoMo will also begin rolling over customers’ unused monthly dialing and communications allowances for up to two months beginning in November. The “two-month carryover” plan applies to all mova and FOMA subscribers and will be automatically instituted for subscribers.
Mobile Internet Phones for the elderly or Technologically challenged
NTT DoCoMo will also launch a new handset model that reads aloud Internet text content and is equipped with a pedometer, functions seen to lure senior citizens and people feel otherwise technologically challenged. According to a DoCoMo spokesperson the flip-type handsets, manufactured by Fujitsu Ltd and estimated to retail for 30,000-40,000 yen ($257-$343), will be the world’s first cell phone handsets with a pedometer function.
MMJ thinks this is a brilliant mobile innovation, since you would never be able to use a pedometer with a fixed line phone – just try it! You won’t get far.
The new Internet-capable handsets also come with large-sized text display and a simple e-mailing function.
Hutchison CAT Awards Global Positioning System (gpsOne) Contract to KDDI
KDDI announced a contract with Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia Ltd., a leading cellular phone carrier in Thailand, for the construction of a high-precision global positioning system (GPS). The contract is based on the gpsOne (TM) system which KDDI presently offers in Japan in cooperation with NEC as EZ NAVI, and is worth a total of approximately 1 billion yen. In constructing the new system, KDDI will cooperate with Snap Track, Inc., regarding the gpsOne (TM) system license and technological support. KDDI will also receive cooperation from Qualcomm, Inc. relating to the technological support associated with the CDMA system.
Taito, Nokia to Join Hands on Cell Phone Karaoke
Taito Corp, a Japanese game software developer, will offer an application using its karaoke data format, "Sequential Display Object Format" (SDOF) for Nokia’s GSM-compatible mobile phone "Nokia 3300." The two firms also will jointly distribute karaoke contents online.
The joint undertaking is based on the "Early Access Project," Nokia’s new product application/service advance development project as part of "Forum Nokia," the Finnish firm’s program for content developers. Taito also has provided "Club Nokia" with Java-compatible game contents. "Club Nokia" is a distribution service for GSM mobile phones.
This project was started in response to a call by Nokia to keep an eye on the steadily expanding karaoke market in Southeast Asia, and then the development project was launched. The target areas will include China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and other parts of Asia where the two firms expect wider use of karaoke by mobile phones in the coming years
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for August 31-September 5, 2003 |
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au's 9 million 3G subs / DoCoMo's Melody Call / Vodaphone K.K.'s Global Nokia |
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By Kevin J. Smith, Mobile Media Japan, Tokyo
Last week in Japan we saw the advance of KDDI's 3G numbers, continued globalization of the wireless industry with the import of the Korean "melody call" service and J-phone's continued movement into the global market with the adoption of a multi-regional handset.
KDDI's 'au' hits 15 million subscribers
KDDI's au service reached 15 million subscribers as of Mid-August. KDDI, which first launched it's mobile Internet services in April 1999 finished upgrading its network to the next- generation CDMA2001x protocol in April of 2002. Current subscriber statistics show that as of August 26th, Au 3G has 9.156 million subscribers. This means that two-thirds of their subscribers are using next-generation handsets, dwarfing the 3G numbers of rivals NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and recently deployed 3G services from Vodafone K.K.Among the reasons for KDDI's success in migrating users to advanced handsets are the upgrade of its existing CDMA2000 network and cleverly-marketed, low-cost handsets. Both NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone K.K. rely on PDC networks for 2G and W-CDMA networks for their 3G services.
NTT DoCoMo introduces "Melody Call" service to Japan
As of September 1st, NTT DoCoMo has introduced the "Melody Call" service to its 2G PDC and 3rd generation FOMA subscribers. The service, originally created in Korea, allows an individual to hear the musical selection of their choice instead of the standard ringing sound when making a call. The service has two options: the "Basic Course" for 100 yen a month and the "Enjoy Course" for 200 yen a month. The basic option provides up to 20 musical selections to choose from while the Enjoy course has an additional 3,000 musical and voice selections to choose from.
J-Phone begins to sell Nokia's Bluetooth Dual 3G-GSMMobile Phone Handset
As part of its continued globalization, Vodafone K.K. (formerly known as J-Phone has begun selling Nokia's V-NM701 handset. This particular handset can be used not only in Japan, but in Europe, the Oceania region and Asian countries. The V-NM701 comprises a Nokia 6650 handset and a USIM card, the Vodafone Global Standard Card. It has Bluetooth and IrDA interfaces that allow users to easily connect outside equipment such as notebook PCs and PDAs. It marks the first time J-Phone has carried a Bluetooth equipped phone, a standard in recent European phones that has never really taken off in Japan. Unlike previous Nokia-branded flip-type handsets sold by J-Phone, which were manufactured by Sanyo, the phone is actually manufactured by Nokia, and sports classic Nokia design features. Still true to the J-Phone tradition, the handset comes equipped with a 320,000-pixel camera. It weighs about 141g, can be used for up to 190 minutes when using it in the W-CDMA mode and about 260 minutes in the GSM mode.
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