| |
NTTDoCoMo |
European and
North American Mobile Operators |
| Industry Value
Chain |
- By controlling all aspects including
handset specifications and the interface, branding, and content,
DoCoMo has become the i-mode value chain.
|
- With carriers and content providers
vying for ownership of the consumer, a fragmented value chain has
evolved.
|
| Technology
versus Content |
- Content has been at the core of the
service and was in place before the technology.
- Offers diverse content categorized
into four areas: on-line transactions, entertainment, databases and
information.
- As of 2000, the service offered 25,100
content sites, 1,100 official and 24,000 unofficial.
|
- The WAP standard was developed and the
content followed.
- Content has focused on financial and
information services.
|
| cHTML vs WML |
- Based on language of traditional
Internet, cHTML has made it easy for developers to create ‘unofficial’
content.
|
-
Developers must learn a new language.
-
Limited number of sites written for WAP.
|
| Networks |
- Packet data network with ‘always’
on connectivity.
|
- Dial-up GSM and other 2G networks.
|
| Marketing |
-
Ads target a broad demographic.
-
A successful advertising campaign that focused on scenes
explaining what i-mode could offer versus promoting it as a
replacement for the wired Internet.
-
i-mode has established tremendous brand power.
|
-
Market to the business user.
-
Ad campaigns promoting ‘Surf the Net wirelessly’ have misled
customers.
-
Services must compete against the high penetration of the PCs and
cheap Internet access rates.
|
| Billing System |
-
DoCoMo’s centralized billing settlement service frees content
providers from billing 1000’s of customers.
-
DoCoMo garners 9 percent of the revenue from services that use its
billing system.
-
Customers are charged flat rate of ¥300 ($3.00) and the cost of
data transmitted.
-
Average monthly bill is $30 to $40.
|
-
Mobile carriers have control over the billing system, while
content providers are forced to negotiate the best deal with a
carrier.
-
WAP users are billed for the about of airtime it takes to receive
data.
-
Average monthly bill is $30 to $40.
|
| Use |
- i-mode users view 300 to 400 Web pages
a month.
|
- WAP users access the Internet less
than once a week
|
| Culture |
-
The Japanese small living quarters limits the use of PCs.
-
The lack of cheap fixed-Internet access.
-
A high percentage of Japanese people commute long distances,
making mobile devices attract communication tools.
|
-
Higher rate of PC Internet access, especially in North America.
-
Surfing the Internet means infinite, rich content delivered at
high speed.
|
| Licensing
costs |
- Granted spectrum access under
government revenue sharing scheme.
|
- European operators have been laden
with the high cost of UTMS licensing costs.
|
