If you've paid any attention whatsoever to the goings-on in the American cellphone market, you'd
know that ponying up the dough to start an MVNO here is
probably not your best shot at striking it rich. One after another has fallen flat, even ones that had millions (and
millions) in marketing dollars behind 'em. That said, Japan's own
NTT DoCoMo is mulling the possibility of fully entering the US cell market next year, offering up smartphones and "other high-performance handsets with its i-mode mobile internet service." We're told that the operator may start as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), leasing capacity from T-Mobile USA or AT&T until it decides on its next move. Call us crazy, but we're guessing it just might have a shot here on US soil if it
snags the iPhone, enables all those
3G services that have been running for years on other platforms and only charges one (as opposed to three or four) human limbs for a monthly plan.
[Thanks, shinbunboi]
posted Sep 6th 2009 10:08AM
This could be awesome, but I'm reminded of Helio, which was, IIRC, supposed to bring advanced South Korean features and phones here...
So, best of luck, anyway... I'm surprised no major Asian carrier has tried to get a foothold in the US market, considering how active the European companies have been.
And I hope it comes with all those cool Japanese phones.
Helio wasn't exactly a failure. They developed a great concept - one price for unlimited data and voice - that was quickly followed by the other providers. Helio's phones were pretty sweet - my Drift (almost four years old) has built-in GPS, email, a decent media player, and a small web browser. When your company gets bought out by a larger company, it's not a sign that you're doing something wrong.
Helio was bought out by Virgin Mobile. Recently, they were acquired by Sprint. I do wish Helio had delivered more high-end phones, but they had a very loyal customer base and still provide excellent service for outstanding products.
I wish more phone companies would imitate Helio's model. Oh well, I still have my no contract, $65 unlimited data plan to console me...
http://www.mobiletor.com/2008/06/30/helio-acquired-by-virgin-mobile-for-39m/
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
http://www.helio.com/#/cell-phone-plans/
Yeah, I remember Helio saying that too; they brought over one cool Korea-only model. The Hero, on the other hand, I showed to a classmate of mine a few months after it came out; he held up a beat-up SK Telecom-branded one and said he had it for two years already. And then things only got worse from there after they only brought out Samsung after Samsung exceot for the two Oceans. I hope docomo doesn't go this same path or they can expect a swift end. America could do with something like the SH-04A; Sidekick form factor but way classier.
I lived in Japan for 3 years, and had Ntt Docomo for about 2 of them. That said, one of the things that was noticeably better with them is the cost of a phone with a new contract would be almost nothing even if it was the newest phone out. (Around $10-20) I think it is ridiculous to pay even a hundred dollars for the Iphone when you also have to pay the same price ever month for your phone bill. I look forward to a strong competitor in the US. Maybe they can teach our companies how it should be done (but that probably won't happen while they are renting the airways from Att or Tmobile).
It's actually only if you're a new customer, not if you're starting a new contract (ie: existing customers who sign a new contract aren't eligible). Most of the big carriers in Japan use the same incentive.
I'm not sure why Engadget is so bent on the iPhone as a MVNO main fare: it just doesn't add up.
- Existing iPhone 3G(s) hardware means the MVNO must lease from AT&T towers (no Tmo-US/AWS support).
- AT&T would have to compete against the MVNO even though they'd be using the same bandwidth, meaning AT&T might as well just say "no".
- Despite /1 week/ at the top of the charts, the 3GS (and certainly the 3G) hasn't been a game-changer for DoCoMo, marketshare-wise.
- Not sure if SoftBank has exclusivity in Japan, but I doubt DoCoMo getting its hands on iPhones would go down kosher.
I see more room for opportunity with Android devices. DoCoMo is rather eager to adopt Android, although WinMo and domestic designs are still the norm in Japan. Android in the US could be doing a lot better if it weren't for carriers. With an all-you-can-eat plan and coverage on AT&T's network (while still acting as a separate MVNO so as not to disrupt AT&T's iPhone dealings), a DoCoMo MVNO could be the go-to carrier for bandwidth-hungry Android devices.
Softbank has exclusivity on the iPhone. And yeah, the 3GS topped the Japanese sales charts for that blink, and then it was back to docomo's SH-06A. Because you just can't compete against an AQUOS screen with a higher resolution, a 10MP CCD sensor capable of ISO12800, and a proper keypad (not to mention the Touch Cruiser and facial recognition phone lock).
This would have been sooo cool 10 years ago.
These days, the iPhone is killing them and their high end handsets.... I don't see this going anywhere, they are not going to get the iPhone because of the exclusivity deal, and BTW I am really enjoying how Apple is hurting from that right now, serves them right for being so greedy.
Apple.. hurting?
Apple right now is taking a bath with Benjamin Franklin (and thousands of his "clones") while Steve Jobs pops open a few bottles of champagne.
There does seem to be a market for phones other than the iPhone, given that they seem to exist and keep selling. (Shocking!)
Though, a decent part of that is people who want different plans or better coverage than at&t- if NTT DoCoMo has to buy airspace from at&t then I don't see how they can beat them on that front.
Uh, have you seen the Japanese sales charts? The iPhone topped the charts for all of a week. That title went right back to their SH-06A afterward. And for good cause. More high-end non-smartphones here would be a good thing because sometimes I don't want to fumble through a smartphone OS.
But a better sales tactic for them would be to sell their Raku-Raku phones here. There don't seem to be a whole lot of others aside from Jitterbug targeting older people and they could build a decent customer base on that.
O2-UK used to sell a range of phones with i-mode; mostly NEC handsets. As far as I can remember it wasn't very successful - having said that, 3G took an awful long time to catch on over here and O2's 3G network is still appauling.
*appalling
hey does anyone remember zer01? it turned out to be a scam and engadget never ran article on it. i remember they put a big article on it when it won that award.
So basically.
This is just a resale of AT&T's crappy network.
Or T-Mobile's, even worse.
Almost every MVNO was on Sprint's network, even if it was a nightmare to work with, but it was the only game to be an MVNO on because no other carrier was reselling _with_ data. Since when are TiMo and AT&T interested in allowing MVNOs on their voice+data networks?
Scenario:
AT&T wants more money, but doesn't want to undercut its iPhone sales with another hot device (say Android or Maemo 5).
AT&T allows MVNO to sell such competing devices. In return, MVNO pays AT&T for using its towers.
AT&T milks money from MVNO, and still gets to throttle MVNO's bandwidth to leverage its position with the iPhone.
However, unlike past MVNOs, DoCoMo knows what it takes for a MVNO to be successful (Japanese carrier e-Mobile was once a MVNO on DoCoMo towers). Operate for a few years as a MVNO to establish a brand, and in the meantime build out its own towers (perhaps "Super3G" LTE) -- DoCoMo has the money to do that. Then launch a few highly anticipated phones (perhaps Android, Maemo5, WM7 -- all of high interest to DoCoMo) with exclusive access to its next-gen network, and eat up customers left and right.
Docomo helped make AT&T's 3G deployment in Hawaii happen. They owned part of the old AT&T so the connection was there long ago. They already have a special data roaming deal with the current AT&T (something like 11MB per day for US$30) so for them to get preferential treatment on AT&T over any other potential MVNOs is very likely.
umm...AT&T can't even handle their own network, I shudder to think how crappy the service with my iphone would get if another company dumps a bunch of data phones on it's network!
And I don't even care if they "throttle" the bandwidth, AT&T just can't handle that kind of pressure.
The most successful MVNO is Tracfone, which leases from AT&T, Verizon and I think T-mobile too. Right now, probably the most competitive prepaid plan is the Straight Talk unlimited for $45. It runs on the Verizon network which is superior to any other.
It's really debatable whether AT&T can provide the same quality of service to another unlimited plan, since even AT&T customers admit that their network is taking strain.
After further studies, I'm 99% sure they wont proceed.
So you really think the other cell operators are suicidal enough to lease affordable bandwidth to someone who's intent is to slit their throats?
When they helped pay for your 3G development in that island state that's hard to cover otherwise, yes.
they lost a lot of $$ when they had a stake in AT&T wireless. but considering how Japan's market is very saturated, and japanese phone manufacturers venturing overseas. NTT DoCoMo should really think hard about entering the US
I home docomo brings imode to the smart phones they are currently offering in Japan before they enter (and fail) in the US market. They are currently way behind Softbank in incorporating smart phones into their local network services. As it is, docomo's smart phones use a kludgey hodgepodge of hacks to access their imode mail, web and network services. Comparing how well the iphone works on Softbank's network made me feel a bit stupid for picking up docomo's android phone, the difference is large.
I never realized how expensive cellphone service was here in America until I went to Hong Kong last year for vacation.
While not related to this article in any way, THIS. A place where "unlimited data" really means "unlimited data", SMS is priced as it should be, and talk is cheap (US$.02/min cheap).
Hi all,
I hope NTT DoCoMo comes here, I think they could do a great job, they have money to market their product and build their own network.
We really have to shake up these carriers here in the US and get some value for our money.
If they enter the US market they should really remember that they have three kinds of people they can target- keitai enthusiasts, Japanese speakers who would like to be able to text in their own language, and old people/people who want a phone that does nothing more than call. While the first market is too small a niche for them to survive in, let alone develop to a full carrier by, the second market can help them form a niche and the third can help them develop as they offer smartphones and featurephones along with their Raku-Raku phones. Because really, there aren't a whole lot of phones targeted at old people or people who scream about their phones doing too much.
Cool, that'll mean more Symbian handsets in the US.
Do want! Sharp makes some bad ass cell phones
I'm don't even care to much if NTT enters the market here or not, this just means hopefully quadband us keitais to start with. I hope.
Then maybe I can hope for a NAM 3G keitai.
The SH-07A is a quadband keitai, so it looks like they're getting ready to do this. And they also have NAM 3G on the 850 band.
Some how I doubt they would lease from T-Mo, especially with T-Mo's crappy 3G - it would hurt their rep. Plus, I thought NTT DoCoMo phones only operate on 3G and PDC, so wouldn't they need either 3G or GSM EDGE compatible keitai models?
This makes me exited and anxious at the same time.
COME TO CANADA TOO PLEASE.... Canadians want descent prices and awesome keitai as well! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease......
The one common 3G band they share with North America is 850. All of their phones are 850/2100 as well as tri-band GSM (the newest Sharp is quad-band so it looks like they're getting ready to push into America) so they have fairly good coverage roaming in America. Not to mention they have a data roaming deal with AT&T that gives docomo users about US$2.30-something per MB up to 11MB while roaming on AT&T.
@Jamar
Yeah, but GSM850 is the "backup" and rural band for NA. The tri-band phones tend to be 850/900/1800, good for roaming in Europe and the rest of Asia - not so good for urban areas in US where 1900 band is dominant. On the other hand, 850 is the dominant band for "rural" areas. In urban areas, they have 3G coverage, though - so it's kind of all balanced out, I guess. The quad-band keitai are expensive too, unless you get them imported yourself from a white-rom shop... But Docomo will take care of that for us, right? =)
I didn't know that DoCoMo ran the 850 WCDMA band, I though it was just 2100. Interesting. T-Mobile runs on WCDMA 1700, so maybe it wouldn't be possible to lease from them (assuming DoCoMo wants 3G).
Love the sharp phones, I was considering importing one from china before I heard this. Now I can import one from the US and use it unlocked on a carrier here (Canada), right?
Of course, this is all assuming they go through with the plan... We don't know for sure if they will launch in NA yet, do we.
I s'pose I'll just wait and see. And I was all hot on importing a chinese sharp phone...
If they do we'll have awesome cameras on our phones as well! =)
Excited, but not holding my breath.......
They'll never sell.
Some of the phones don't even have TOUCHSCREENS. No average US consumer will want to buy one, they've got BUTTONS for god's sake!
Actually, plenty of them do. And there's the aces in the hole- solar charging and waterproofing, two features that are very hard to come by in America (there's Casio for the second, but what about the first? And no way am I going Verizon just for waterproofing). And that's not including the e-money system too.
NTT Docomo is currently operating in Guam as Docomo Pacific. They bought out the local GSM/CDMA operator Guamcell. They could very well use this network to test run any service they could potentially offer before they push through with their MVNO plans. Since becoming Docomo Pacific, the 3G network was switched on and a lot of WCDMA handsets were brought in, albeit none are Japanese.
And that's what I'm worried about. Docomo becoming an MVNO on the American mainland is all well and good, but no one will give a crap about them if they don't bring over proper keitai. If Docomo USA becomes another Docomo Pacific (they don't even use Docomodake in advertising!) they will die like the others (like Helio when it stopped importing cool Korea-only phones).
Gimme the phones they offer in Japan in a timely manner, and they can have my money.
DoCoMo is a much better carrier in JP, I miss them now that I am stateside again. I bet IF they do their homework and walk over the Pacific like Godzilla, offering up free universal incoming calls (like they do in JP), and a barrage of other features the carriers here in the US don't bother with that they will do quite well here.
Yep. The only problem I see them having is offering e-money payment (iD-credit). Currently they're cross-compatible with Visa's system but it's so slow (gotta hold the phone to the machine for a while instead of just tapping). Take care of that and they're golden (since they have security problems taken care of; if you don't want people skimming your phone turn on the IC-lock or have it prompt you every time the IC chip is accessed; way more secure than a regular RFID card).
competition and awesomely colored phones are always welcome
As exciting as this sounds, remember how excited we all were over KDDI Mobile launching in the US! I thought that it would basically be like Helio w/ Japanese phones rather than Korean phones, but nope. It was just a bunch of Sanyo Katanas w/ Japanese firmware.
I hope that whenever the MVNO launches here, DoCoMo friggin BRINGS IT with the J phones. So far, phones from Japanese manufacturers in the US (i.e. Casio, Sanyo, Kyocera, etc; the more recent Sharp-manufactured Sidekicks being the only exception) have been pretty lackluster. *knocks on wood w/ crossed fingers*