Recently a series of
announcements made by the Japanese telecom NTTDoCoMo, Inc. suggests
that the company is moving beyond the praises of i-mode into
uncharted territory.
Teams Up with SAP to Attract the Corporate Sector
Even though NTTDoCoMo’s i-mode service subscriber base has
toppled the 22 million mark, the service has not sparked widespread
interest among those in the Japanese corporate sector. In a move to
attract their attention, NTTDoCoMo has jointed forces with SAP AG
and SAP Japan Co. Ltd., subsidiaries of the e-business solution
provider SAP, to conduct a series of feasibility studies to develop
mobile business solutions.
By combining their expertise, the two companies will develop
systems and services that will further extend the mobile
capabilities of SAP’s e-business solutions by incorporating
NTTDoCoMo’s technology. In addition, the two companies will work
together to deploy and market the solutions worldwide.
Launch Fixed i-mode
NTTDoCoMo and two Japanese regional carriers, NTT East Corp. and NTT
West Corp., have made plans to start a fixed-line version of the
popular i-mode service. Subject to approval from the Japanese
government, the service, called as L-mode, could start as early as
June.
According to the companies, the fixed-line version of i-mode
eliminates the need for an Internet service provider or PC to browse
the Internet, but users will need a telephone with a digital
display.
Kimiko Ohga, NTT East’s senior manager of marketing and
development, told MBizCentral that NTT is hoping to sign up at least
1.5 million households within the first year of operation.
i-mode American Style
At the recent The Industry Standard’s Roam conference, Takeshi
Natsuno, executive director for NTTDoCoMo told a MBizCentral
reporter, that the telecom will help AT&T Wireless roll out an i-mode
service, but it is not willing to export the service.
With NTTDoCoMo as a minority shareholder, AT&T Wireless is
expected to offer subscribers an i-mode service or a version thereof
early next year.
Perhaps North American telecoms should shift their preoccupation
from technology to content, according to Mr. Natsuno.
"Technology is nothing; content and applications are
everything," he told MbizCentral. Furthermore, he stressed the
importance of local marketing and local content, offering people
what they want, when they want it.
Stay tune as the Japanese carrier rolls out its 3G mobile
communications service, branded as FOMA, next month.
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