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Wireless Federation » archive for 'Softbank'

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.

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 cuts the iPhone basic fee by Y5000 (Japan)

  • August 27th, 2008
  • 10:52 am

Softbank Mobile Corp., Japan, will be reducing the minimum monthly basic fee for the iPhone from the current 2,990 yen to 2,324 yen in order to counter the competitor NTT DoCoMo’s new launch of low-charge services. Softbank Mobile has lowered its monthly fees for the 3G iPhone users for the second time now.

The new basic fee will be 5,000 yen lower than the initial charge of 7,280 yen. The cut for minimum monthly charge will be made by lowering fixed fees for services such as email and Internet access.
   

Softbank plans to introduce Casio phones (Japan)

  • August 19th, 2008
  • 1:31 pm

By the end of 2008, Softbank (japanese mobile operator) is planning to introduce new handsets from Casio Computer, increasing a line-up that includes iPhone. According to a media report, operator is offering Casio handsets, which are popular for their shock-proof and water resistant features and advanced digital cameras, to boost the company’s appeal to potential subscribers. Softbank Mobile added more users than its rivals on a net basis in July for the 15th consecutive month, enhanced by the iPhone launch. However Casio will be supplying Softbank with its first W-CDMA phone.

Asia underground market awaits iPhone

  • July 11th, 2008
  • 2:43 pm

As Apple Inc. rolled out its newest iPhone in Asia on Friday, dealers and buyers said it’s only a matter of time — maybe as little as a few days — before the popular device hits the region’s thriving underground marketplace.

iPhones are nothing new to Asia, where enthusiasts from Bangkok to Shanghai already sport fake and unlocked models of the first generation, which was unveiled last year.

Now, electronics markets are preparing for an influx iPhones capable of 3G, or third-generation, cell phone technology after the official release in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong of the new Apple unit.

In the Chinese territory, ads pitching unlocked iPhones and services to unlock them were everywhere in a shopping mall with three floors of cell-phone stores.

Shop owner Chris Lau said he’s already taken orders for the new iPhone from 40 people and estimated its arrival on the gray market in about a week.

“I’m not 100 percent sure the stocks we are receiving will be unlocked, but I don’t think it will take long to crack it,” he said, referring to the practice of hacking iPhones’ computer code so they can be used with different mobile service providers.

Legal purchase of an iPhone usually locks a buyer into a service provider partnered with Apple, such as Softbank Corp. in Japan.

Candice Lam was among those considering a gray-market purchase because she didn’t want to be locked into paying for a two-year contract with Apple’s local carrier, Hutchison Telecom.

“Some of my friends are already using it. I want to have one myself,” the 20-year-old university student said while browsing phone shops. “I already have a contract with one operator. I don’t want to sign another just for a phone.”

Vendors didn’t have any stocks at Beijing’s Nurenjie shopping complex, a known center for sales of smuggled iPhones located across the street from the new U.S. Embassy. Apple does not sell the iPhone in China, but unlocked versions brought from other markets are plentiful.

Demand for the new device was running high, with some dealers saying unlocked 3G-ready iPhones should fetch about 5,000 yuan ($700) once they’re available. The majority will probably come from the U.S. and Hong Kong, they said.

“Many people have called to order the 3G iPhone, but we simply don’t have the merchandise,” Chang Wei of Xiaowei Telecommunications said.

Online auction sites, however, were offering the iPhone by midday — for the right price. Sellers on one mainland China site, taobao.com, were asking 9,359 yuan ($1,369) for the 16-gigabyte version.

Apple plans to sell its 8-gig iPhone for $199 in the United States and the 16-gig version for $299. It’s selling in Japan for 23,040 yen ($215) for the 8-gig model, while the 16-gig version costs 34,560 yen ($320).

Hong Kong’s iPhone comes unlocked but buyers still must purchase a two-year mobile contract; the 8-gig phone goes for 2,938 Hong Kong dollars ($376).

On a Yahoo.com site catering to Hong Kong, one seller was peddling 8-gig phones purchased in New Zealand for HK$9,500 ($1,217). “Its going very fast! sold 2 in 20 mins,” the seller wrote.

Representatives from Apple and its service providers in Japan and Hong Kong declined to comment on the gray market or discuss any countermeasures they might take.

Not that Apple isn’t likely keeping watch over the situation. Last year the company threatened to take legal action against Singapore retailers it accused of selling unlocked phones unless they stopped, according to local media reports.

Aside from lawsuits, the company could take steps from tracking buyers and serial numbers, to auditing distributors and resellers, who are typically the biggest risk in the supply chain, said Steve Vickers, president of business security consultants International Risk.

But limiting underground sales becomes all the more difficult when you have a product so widely available as the iPhone.

“There would be less risk if you could keep it under wraps,” Vickers said. “But eventually you have to sell it.”

   

 

Crowds greet iPhone launch in Japan

  • July 11th, 2008
  • 2:24 pm

Over 1,000 people, many queuing through the night, besieged a store in downtown Tokyo on Friday as the iPhone went on sale in Japan for the first time.

The iPhone 3G went on sale at 7:00 a.m. at the flagship store of Softbank Mobile in downtown Tokyo.

“I’ve been saying this year marks the first year when cellphones will become Internet machines,” Masayoshi Son, who heads the Softbank group, told the eagerly waiting crowd just before the launch.

“Today is a historic day,” Son said, arguing it would become more convenient to access the Internet with an iPhone than with a personal computer. The first-generation iPhone was never sold in Japan.

As the countdown hit zero, white smoke shot up in front of the store and curtains were pulled to reveal huge iPhone 3G images on the store walls.

Japan’s Apple fans traded sleep and comfort for the thrill of being the first to buy the iPhone, with many camping out days before the launch.

The person who got the first iPhone was delighted.

“This is great, there is nothing more to say, this is great. I have made a call to my girlfriend,” he said.

As he posed with Son with iPhones in their hands, people still waiting in the queue took out their cellphones and snapped pictures.

Apple has described the new model as twice as fast and half as expensive as the original. The eight-gigabyte phone is priced at 23,040 yen (215 dollars).

Softbank Mobile is presently the only one to offer iPhone in Japan, although its contract is not exclusive and other companies are working to clinch deals with Apple.

Experts have said the iPhone could face an uphill battle in Japan, where handsets allow users to watch television and pay for goods like they do with a credit card — neither of which the Apple phone can do.

   

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.

   

 
 

Softbank inks deal with Apple to sell iPhone in Japan

  • June 4th, 2008
  • 2:24 pm

Softbank Corp and Apple have struck a deal to allow the Japanese operator to sell the vendor’s innovative iPhone handset by the end of this year, Reuters reports citing a Softbank statement. Softbank, the nation’s third largest mobile provider behind NTT DoCoMo and KDDI, did not provide any specific details of the deal, nor did it say whether it would have exclusivity for the iPhone in Japan. DoCoMo has been tipped as a possible candidate to sell the handset, although a spokesman for the firm, Shuichiro Ichikoshi, declined to say if it had also signed an agreement with Apple.