3G Forecast for 2005

Reuters : Japan's top mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc, said on Thursday it expected six million users for its high-speed third-generation (3G) service by March 2005, up from a forecasted 1.46 million users by March 2004.

Inset is NTT DoCoMo's senior executive vice-president, Shiro Tsuda who is quoted below.

DoCoMo hopes its 3G service, which offers video conferencing and speedy access to the Web, will be its next growth driver in a saturating market. It has until recently met tepid demand due to poor battery life, limited coverage area and pricey handsets.

"We expect it (3G subscriber growth) to be one year behind the original schedule," NTT DoCoMo's senior executive vice-president, Shiro Tsuda said.

DoCoMo had originally aimed for six million 3G subscribers by March 2004.

Tsuda also said DoCoMo aimed to introduce an advanced service which offers transmission speeds of up to 14 megabits per second (mbps) in the next business year starting in April 2004, far surpassing rival KDDI Corp's planned CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service, which is capable of receiving information at 2.4 mbps.

He said DoCoMo might miss its original end-2003 target for launching the next series of 3G handsets, whose basic functionality, including battery life, is expected to be at least as good as dominant 2G models.

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