Portelligent on DoCoMo (and au)
>> Reasons for Switching Wireless Carriers
CA040813-01
M. Robertson
Portelligent
August 13, 2004
According to a survey conducted by Infoseek and Mitsubishi Research Institute, about 30 percent of wireless service subscribers have switched wireless carriers in the past. Decisions were influenced by carriers used by family and friends, network coverage areas, and quality.
Infoseek and Mitsubishi Research Institute published the result of "the 11th Survey on Subscribers of Mobile Phone Contents and Services (literal translation)".
The theme of the survey was switching wireless carriers. About 30 percent of those surveyed have changed carriers in the past. There were about 10 percent of the surveyed who considered switching but did not. Four out of 10 men in their 30's have changed carriers. Also about 40 percent women in their 20's have switched.
About half of au's subscribers who used to have different carriers changed from DoCoMo to au. About 25 percent of au's subscribers who had changed had switched from Vodafone to au. There are only about 16.8 percent of Vodafone subscribers who switched from au to Vodafone. As for DoCoMo users who have switched carriers in the past, 30 percent came from Vodafone and another 30 percent came from au.
Many thought of switching carriers in the past but did not because of satisfaction with handset functions, contents, new services and the price of handsets.
In the contrast, the people who have changed carriers did so because "Functions offered by other carriers were more attractive. (35 percent)", "Charging plans of other carriers were more appealing. (33.9 percent)", and "Friends and family are subscribers of other carriers (32.8 percent)".
As for brand images of the carriers, DoCoMo subscribers view the DoCoMo brand as "Stability" and " Excellence in Technology". au subscribers and Vodafone subscribers see their brands as "Friendly" and "Inexpensive fees". au subscribers also think of the au brand as "Stylish" and "Development power". Vodafone subscribers see Vodafone as "International".
The companies surveyed 2077 people (males and females who are 15-59 years old) on the web during July 15 - July 20, 2004. The survey on carrier switching was conducted on 1800 people (who are subscribers of wireless services) of the 2077 (86.7 percent of the total surveyed). <<
>> DoCoMo Unveils Handset Roadmap
CA040813-02
M. Robertson
Portelligent
August 13, 2004
At the reporting of the fiscal 2004 first quarter financial performance on July 30, 2004, DoCoMo, Japan's No. 1 wireless service operator, unveiled its roadmap for the future of its services and handsets.
In the first half fiscal 2004, the company plans to roll out new PDC handsets. They are expected to be unique and different from the standard PDC handsets (50x/25x). After the first half fiscal 2004, there are no PDC handsets on the roadmap.
After F900iC, there will be several derivative models on FOMA. Following the N900iL (wireless LAN model), there will be the 900iG, a WCDMA/GSM dual mode handset.
i-mode FeliCa compliant handsets include 3 models for the 506iC series and F900iC for FOMA. In December 2004, there will be a 901i series for FOMA. They are expected to support i-mode FeliCa. At the same time, a dual band (2GHz/800MHz) FOMA handset is planned.
In between the end of 2004 and 2005, DoCoMo plans to debut a commodity FOMA handset model.
In fiscal 2005, the 901iS series is expected to come out. DoCoMo plans to launch a 3.5G wireless service, HSDPA, which supports up to 14Mbps in fiscal 2005. Initially, the supported speed will be 3.6Mbps.
DoCoMo, in attempt to accelerate FOMA penetration, is subsidizing some of the FOMA handset development expenses at Sharp, NEC, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi Electric and Motorola. <<
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