NTT DoCoMo Says Telefonica May Offer I-Mode Service in Brazil
--From AOL.-- Cooters
Rio de Janeiro, April 24 (Bloomberg) -- NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's largest mobile phone operator, wants to use a partnership with Spain's Telefonica SA to expand in Latin America as competition increases at home.
Telefonica may offer a Brazilian version of DoCoMo's i-mode wireless technology, which enables mobile phone users to access the Internet. DoCoMo owns a 7 percent stake in Tele Sudeste Celular Participacoes SA, a mobile phone operator serving Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo states that is controlled by a Telefonica-led group.
``We are actually working with Telefonica to start a similar service to i-mode here and this, of course, would mean there could be an expansion of the service to the rest of Latin America,' said Kazuo Moriya, president of DoCoMo's Brazilian operations, in an interview.
Mobile Internet service is an untapped market in Brazil because the regulators, known as Anatel, haven't approved the technology. Anatel has cleared only the transmission of messages.
``Anatel just allowed the short message services, so it may take a while to see this technology here,' Moriya said. ``We do hope to start a i-mode-like service in Brazil.'
DoCoMo also sees its partnership with Telefonica as a way to expand in other Latin American markets where the Spanish company operates. Telefonica also offers telecommunications services in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.
DoCoMo's expansion to Latin America would come as it faces growing competition at home from DDI Corp. and Japan Telecom Co., Japan's No. 2 and No. 3 mobile operators, which also offer wireless Internet services.
Offering Internet access over cellular phones in Latin America could help Telefonica boost revenue from data services.
I-Mode
DoCoMo's service has become Japan's most popular means to access the Internet, with about 6.14 million subscribers since February 1999. DoCoMo forecasts the i-mode service to bring in 30 billion yen ($283.9 million) in revenue for the twelve months through March, in addition to cash from regular voice traffic.
The i-mode service allows mobile phone users to send and receive e-mails and browse certain Web sites without a computer. It also offers services such as airplane, concert and train ticket booking, stock trading, mobile banking and real-time news.
DoCoMo has sent two engineers to Tele Sudeste Celular to work on the company's data transmission systems and implement new technologies for wireless Internet services.
Tele Sudeste Celular started offering cellular phones with Internet access capabilities about a week ago. The company expects as many as 300,000 users to subscribe to its wireless service by the end of this year.
Moriya said DoCoMo isn't considering to bid for a license to provide personal cellular communications services, or PCS, in Brazil, when the government auctions them later this year, but that may change, depending on Telefonica's strategy.
``If Telefonica wants to bid for another license, maybe we will consider bidding with them, as a partner,' Moriya said.
Apr/24/2000 16:12 |
