NTTDoCoMo Delays 3G Launch
Perhaps, industry prestige and great expectations led
NTTDoCoMo to lay claim to the honor of being the first to launch 3G
service in the world, somewhat, prematurely.
Appears that just overnight the Japanese telecom announced a
four-month delay in the launch of its 3G service, citing technical
difficulties. The company had planned to introduce 3G services on
May 30 in Tokyo, with hopes of signing up 150,000 subscribers in the
first year.
The Nihon Keizai newspaper reported that the telecom now plans to
offer 3G service on an experimental basis to no more than 4,000
people chosen by the company.
Pat Kuwahata, a spokesperson for the company, told Bloomberg
News, "We have to provide a new service that’s 100 percent
stable. We haven’t had enough time to evaluate our service’s
satiability.
This leaves BT’s Manx Telecom division first in line. The
British telecom said that it was on track to launch 3G services on
the Isle of Man at the end of May, barring any difficulties, it will
be honored with the headline: First in the World to Launch 3G
Service
For more information: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/
Mobileinfo Comments and Advisory: We do not want to
make a big story out of this. Reality is that any new emerging
technology does take longer than many project plans suggest. Whether
NTT DoCoMo hands the title of being the first company in the world to
go live with 3G network to BT, it will continue to show a path to
others to follow. It is better to do it right than to do it first.
