NTT DoCoMo Hands Out 3G Phones
NTT DoCoMo (www.docomo.com) has announced that it will begin distributing 4,500 mobile phones, equipped for third-generation (3G) services, to monitors participating in the introductory phase of the company's "FOMA" 3G service rollout. Applicants that were selected to participate in the trials were notified yesterday.
NTT DoCoMo states that it initially planned to distribute 4,000 mobile phones, but later decided to raise the number to 4,500 after it received 147,000 applications.
The breakdown includes 1,400 standard phones, an upgraded version of the current i-mode cellular phone featuring sound quality similar to that of a fixed-line phone, 1,200 "visual" phones equipped with a video screen, and 1,900 "data-card" phones for dedicated mobile high-speed data transmission.
Unfortunately, NTT DoCoMo is running into continued troubles with its "visual" phones, and states that the model required a debugging of its embedded software. The video-enabled phones are expected to be handed out for testing by the end of June 2001.
After its startling success in rolling out i-mode, NTT DoCoMo's troubles with 3G services have not scarred its reputation to much extent. TARIFCA (www.tarifca.com), the communications and media consultancy, suggests that i-mode will be a key driver of 3G in Europe and a surprise market entrant over the next six months, and later in the US. NTT DoCoMo purchased a stake in AT&T Wireless in November of 2000.
TARIFCA adds that operators keen to recoup heavy 3G license costs, are seeking new 3G type services to roll out over GPRS. The report finds that a number of operators in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and France are likely to adopt i-Mode in the delayed run-up to full 3G launch in 2003/2004. i-Mode competes, though, with WAP, the adopted European standard for the wireless Web that has seen a much lower adoption rate amongst consumers.
According to TARIFCA, the hitch may be that operators will need to convince potential partners and investors to put further finance into the deployment of i-mode.