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Nokia enters Japan with ‘Vertu’

  • November 24th, 2008
  • 6:53 am

Nokia, one of the biggies in mobile handsets market, is planning to launch mobile phone services in Japan, media reported. The company, which would become the first handset manufacturer to operate telecommunications services in Japan, will attempt to crack one of the worlds most competitive but lucrative markets through its high-end brand Vertu, report said. The new entrant is soon going to shake mobile phone industry of Japan, presently lead by NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Corp. Nokia will be able boost its image and market share. Nokia plans to rent wireless communication networks from DoCoMo and begin services as a “mobile virtual network operator” in the spring, as reported by a news agency. The report further said, Nokia would target wealthy Japanese customers first with its Vertu line, which is made with jewels, precious metals and premium leather. The handsets will retail for 1.6 million yen to 5 million yen ($17,000 to $52,000).

However, Nokia caters 39% share of the world’s handset market, its handset presence in Japan remains small. Vertu phones feature a “concierge key” that enables access to a round-the-clock personal assistant to help with travel, dining and entertaining arrangements. In Japan, there are about 107 million cell phones.

DoCoMo & KTF together to vend Google phone next year (Japan)

  • November 19th, 2008
  • 9:37 am

Japan’s leading telco, NTT DoCoMo and South Korean partner KTF will jointly develop a smartphone using Google Inc software for launch next year, media reported. DoCoMo is a part of global alliance to develop phones based on Google’s Android platform and is looking forward a launch in 2009. 10% of KTF is owned by NTT and the two companies in alliance acquiring handset to slash costs.

Smartphones are well accepted in Japan, in part led by the July introduction of Apple’s iPhone. NTT and KTF are planning to price the Google Phone 20% lower than existing smartphones, as it will save costs on software development using the Android software, the report said. Google is offering the software for free. This is the first Google Phone to be sold by Japanese and South Korean carriers.

According to NTT’s Spokesman, the company had not yet decided to launch an Android-based phone next year. KDDI Corp is also in the Open Handset Alliance that includes Intel Corp, eBay, LG, Motorola, Qualcomm and Samsung.

Softbank signs up 118,400 new subscribers (Japan)

  • November 11th, 2008
  • 6:46 am

Softbank Mobile, bags third position in the mobile market of Japan, by adding more net subscribers than its rivals in October for the 18th month in succession. The operator adds a net 118,400 new subscribers in October whereas number four player eMobile, gained 102,500 net new subscribers attributed to its wireless data cards that are being sold with low-end laptops such as Asustek Computer’s Eee PC. eMobile also posted solid sales of the recently launched Touch Diamond smartphone manufactured by HTC Corp- a device which is considered as rival to Apple’s iPhone 3G. NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp, trailed behind Softbank and eMobile in terms of net addition of new subscribers. In this period, NTT adds 32,700 and 46,700 subscribers fall in KDDI’s kitty.

Japan subscriber base to hit 121 mln by 2011

  • October 13th, 2008
  • 8:44 am

Mobile users in Japan will increase to 121 million by 2011 and the penetration rate in the Japanese market will grow to 95.4 percent by 2011, according to a report. The mobile market of Japan is reaching the saturation point, competition among the three operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and SoftBank intensifies in terms of network, contents and devices. In this situation they are intending to extend their businesses abroad. DoCoMo plans to commercialize Long Term Evolution (LTE) service for the first time in the world by 2010, and its rival SoftBank is to introduce the service about the same time.

Considering, the general trend in the price policy, it appears that two-year contracts are becoming common in the Japanese market. DoCoMo introduced a new discount rate plan based on a two-year commitment in 2007. SoftBank and KDDI immediately followed it. Only SoftBank and EMOBILE offers free-call service between those who use the same network. It is anticipated that by 2011, free-call service (flat-rate) will be widespread in Japan.

Japan hits the subscriber base of more than 104.83 mln (Japan)

  • October 9th, 2008
  • 5:00 am

Recent statistics reveals that Japanese mobile operators reaches a combine total of more than 104.83 million by adding 406,700 new customers in September’08.

Operators Subscribers (Million) Net Additions
Softbank 19.63 142,800
KDDI 30.45 74,900
NTT DoCoMo 53.94 129,700
Emobile 0.82 59,300

Softbank Mobile adds 142,800 new subscribers (Japan)

  • October 7th, 2008
  • 12:51 pm

Softbank Mobile, Japan’s largest mobile operator, adds new subscribers more than it’s rivals for the 17th consecutive month. Softbank provides it’s subscribers with low call rates and agressively running marketing campaigns and also brings in Apple iPhone. The mobile operator added 142,800 new subscribers for the month of September, lagging behind were NTT DoCoMo with 129,700 net additions, and second placed KDDI, which added 74,900. Japan’s number four operator eMobile added 59,300.

   

KDDI mobile phone sales expected to plunge 20-30% in 2008 (Japan)

  • September 17th, 2008
  • 10:23 am

With the operators switching to a new sales model and the matured domestic market , KDDI predicts a fall of 30% in mobile phone sales this summer. KDDI president Tadashi Onodera also said that sales will likely fall some 20 % in the coming winter shopping season. Japan’s top three operator have now get on to new sales plans which have augmented the price of mobile phones and cut down the calling fees. Unit sales hurt by the higher prices as users tend to keep their phones longer. Oddly carriers’ profits have benefited as they no longer need to pay heavy subsidies to retailers to fuel sales. We are being careful with our orders, so inventories are not piling up that much. We do have more inventory than last year, but we believe we can sell enough of that, said Onodera. KDDI was operating services under two separate brands Tu-Ka and au on different bandwidths. Analyst believes, KDDI’s estimates may be conservative but they are in line with expectations. With the promotions to upgrade Tu-Ka users, sales are going down. The higher handset prices are also the factor for sluggish sales. It is anticipated that KDDI’s market share will shrik with the expected fall in sales.

Softbank Corp. earns maximum iPhone 3G subscribers (Japan)

  • August 7th, 2008
  • 12:44 pm

Softbank Corp., Japan’s third largest mobile operator, has gained it’s subscriber base, all thanks to the launch of Apple iPhone 3G to 215,000.  It’s rivals have gained less subscribers, DoCoMo - 94,000 ; KDDI - 17,000; and eAccess - 65,000.

In just a month, Softbank sold around 100,000 units of iPhone 3G in Japan. The company said their iPhone 3G supply is now becoming stable and they will reduce monthly charges for iPhone 3G customers to as low as 2,990 yen (27.3230 USD) from 7,280 yen (66.5215 USD) hoping to attract more users and increase profits.

   

DoCoMo to cut fees to compete with rivals (Japan)

  • June 13th, 2008
  • 2:20 pm

Japan’s leading mobile operator by subscribers NTT DoCoMo has revealed it is cutting its monthly mobile tariffs in a bid to match rivals KDDI and Softbank Mobile, as the domestic mobile price war begins to intensify. DoCoMo still controls roughly half the market but has seen its share whittled away by its rivals in the past year. This month, KDDI unveiled a JPY980 (USD9.12) per month plan to compete with number three player Softbank, which has won more subscribers than either of its larger rivals since April 2007 on the back of its low-price strategy and aggressive advertising campaigns. Reuters reports that DoCoMo is dropping its lowest tariff plan by nearly 7% to JPY980 from July to match the competition.

   

Mobile signups: KDDI, DoCoMo lose out to Softbank again in May (Japan)

  • June 6th, 2008
  • 2:58 pm

Softbank Mobile eclipsed larger rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI for the 13th month running, signing up 173,700 net new users compared with 60,900 for the NTT subsidiary and 72,400 for KDDI. Data published by the Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA) shows that Softbank Mobile ended last month with 18.952 million customers, behind market leader DoCoMo with 53.544 million and second placed KDDI with just under 30.293 million. Mobile newcomer eMobile ended the month with 555,400 users, having added 51,500 new users on a net basis, and PHS operator Willcom had 4.614 million (up 11,200).

Earlier this week Softbank announced it had struck a deal to sell Apple’s iPhone before the end of the year, and analysts expect this will help to contribute to strong subscription growth for the operator in the short- to medium-term.