|
i-Mode
Mobile Frontier: Future of i-mode
With 59 percent of the Japanese market share and a government imposed
market cap, NTT DoCoMo has outgrown its presence at home; other frontiers
must now be conquered. As the industry sets its sights on the next
generation of networks and services, NTT DoCoMo is leveraging the success i-mode
to stake out new territories, in a move to position itself as the dominate
global 3G player. As of February 2001, the mobile operator had minority
ownership in the following foreign companies:
-
A 19 percent stake in Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa.
-
A 15 percent stake in Dutch phone firm KPN Mobile N.V.
-
A 20 percent share in Hutchison Wampoa’s 3G U.K. Holdings.
-
A 20 percent ownership in Taiwan’ KG Telecom.
-
A 16 percent equity stake in AT&T Wireless of the U.S.
DoCoMo’s Timetable for Success
-
Roll out 3G (W-CMDA) in Tokyo in October of 2001.
-
Deploy nationwide 3G services by the end of 2002.
-
Launch i-mode/WAP service with KPN Mobile N.V. and TIM of Italy during 2002.
-
Establish a joint company with KPN Mobile dedicated to mobile data.
-
Launch i-mode services (American style) with AT & T Wireless in
New York City in the fall of 2002.
-
Launch i-mode services across the U.S. by 2003 or 2004.
Factors to Consider
Cultural Habits and Expectations
-
Americans, more so than the Europeans, have embraced the Internet via
fixed-line PC access. Will they en mass see any advantage to wireless
Net access?
-
European and American Telecoms have promoted WAP services primarily to
business user who has not been willing to risk business opportunities to
prove a new technology. This leaves the youth, mobile-Internet market
largely untouched.
Technology
-
DoCoMo warned that mobile multimedia may not initially live up to the
hype it has received and that mobile carriers should not expect large
revenues from voice streaming.
-
There are indications that WAP and i-mode will eventually work
together. A report by Goldman Sachs suggests that the "two
technologies will converge, with XML offering the underpinning for the
unification between both standards."
Economics
-
If the European and American telecoms are left debt-laden by expensive
3G licenses and then by poor revenues, DoCoMo may take the opportunity
to expand its minority interests or, even consider, buy outs.
-
While expanding into foreign territory, DoCoMo must ensure that its
home market is not scarified. Maintaining a strong home base is critical
for international expansion.
|
