WW-125 -- KDDI vs. DOCOMO -- The Battle Heats Up

===========================================
J@pan Inc presents the Wireless Watch Newsletter:

W I R E L E S S W A T C H

Commentary on Japan's Wireless World
===========================================

Wireless Watch Newsletter
Issue No. 125
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
TOKYO

Subscribe for FREE:
http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=ww

CONTENTS

@@ Viewpoint: KDDI vs. DOCOMO -- The Battle Heats Up

================ FREE ME! ====================

The New APRIL issue of JI magazine boasts a makeover, award-winning
journalism -- and, for the first time, FREE online access!**

Check it out NOW:

http://www.japaninc.com/contents.php?issueID=59

(**For a limited time; thereafter all archived contents will be
subscriber-only.)

>> ANIME ATTACKS: Disney's divorce from digital animator Pixar
and the Michael Eisner debacle comes at an ideal time for Japan's
animation titans. Leo Lewis speaks to the president of TOEI, whose
forthcoming assault on the US and Europe speaks volumes.

>> Honda president Takeo Fukui tells us precisely what it means to be
named Nikkei's No. 1 company of the year. A JI exclusive interview!

>> TRUE LIES: A new book about the M-fund, a secret cache of cash
worth billions and overseen by the US and Japan, is stirring up
controversy and ... death-threats. David McNeill explains -- and we
speak to the authors, who are currently in hiding.

PLUS: Alejandro Lopez of Beacon Communications on how to reinvigorate
advertising in Japan's reviving brand market; a visit to Tokyo's oldest
slums; our expert analyses for investors looking to navigate Japan's
resurging booms; the very latest from the frontlines of technological
wizardry, consumer surveys and much, much more.
===========================================
============ GET YOUR OWN DOT.COM =============

Tired of your Hotmail or Yahoo address?
Why not get a personalized email address?
It does not cost a lot to get your own dot.com...

Domains-Japan.com offers very affordable domain registration,
and a whole range of related services such as webmail and email.
Choose from .com/net/org .us .info .biz .uk .cc .tv .ws .tm .de
and many more...

http://www.domains-japan.com
===========================================

@@ Viewpoint: KDDI vs. DOCOMO -- The Battle Heats Up

The subscriber growth numbers for March are out. To our surprise,
DoCoMo was not able to steal the top slot from KDDI. The KDDI group
added 466,000 new subscribers, while DoCoMo and Vodafone had 413,000
and 99,000 subscribers, respectively.

Historically, March has been a month of strong growth for DoCoMo.
DoCoMo sold 600,000 900i handsets, and the total number of FOMA
subscribers reached more than 3 million by March 31. As this is
less than 7 percent of the DoCoMo subscriber base, there is ample
room for further growth. KDDI sold 300,000 WIN-enabled handsets in
March.

Though Vodafone has reached the 15-million subscriber milestone, the
company's performance is not impressing us. Apparently this opinion is
shared at company headquarters; Vodafone has just posted a new
COO to Japan, usually a sign that internal management and procedures
will be shaken up.

The new COO used to run Vodafone's operations in the Netherlands.

The lineup of Vodafone's 3G handsets is still limited compared to its
competitors' offerings, resulting in a slow takeoff of 3G. Vodafone has
managed only 138,000 subscribers as of March 31. Once the company
introduces the new 3G handsets made by Sharp, we expect its number
of 3G subscribers to grow a lot faster.

The number of camera phones in the market has reached nearly 48 million,
representing a 60 percent share of all phones. The prices of these camera
phones -- which offer multi-million pixels, memory storage cards and
auto-focus -- are cheaper than those for middle-end digital cameras.

What surprises us is that not one of the Japanese carriers is willing to
give their existing 2G subscribers an incentive to upgrade their phones
to 3G. The FOMA N900i phone is, on average, 1,000 yen more expensive when
you want to exchange your 2G phone. It will be interesting to see who
the first carrier will be to provide a premium instead of a penalty to
their loyal subscribers. The current card loyality programs of the
carriers offer too many limitations concerning minimum monthly usage
to make full use of the perks offered.

Although DoCoMo is gradually loosing market share to KDDI, we do not
expect a price war to break out for new customers, as profitability is
still the top priority for both companies. Instead, they will likely
compete with new handsets and services, a competition at which KDDI --
which used to be a tech-driven company -- has excelled over the past
two years.

-- Arjen van Blokland

===========================================
Nikkei Net Interactive - We put Japan's business world on your desktop.
EXCLUSIVE NEWS: Nikkei news with 100 stories daily & The Nikkei Weekly.
COMPREHENSIVE DATA: Stock quotes, profiles, financial summaries & news.
LIVE MARKET INFORMATION: Real-time quotes for Nikkei Indexes.
CUSTOMIZED SETTINGS: News filters, portfolios and e-mail alerts.
COST-EFFECTIVE: 6,300 yen per person per six months.
Register for your trial today:
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/
============================================
============================================
ICA April 15 Event

Special Networking Party and Mobile Technology Round Table
Discussion with Japan and Europe's top mobile strategists

RSVP required, complete event details at http://www.icajapan.jp/
Date: Thursday, April 15, 6:30 Doors open
Food: Buffet dinner and one drink ticket included
Cost: 3,000 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members), Open to all
Foreign Correspondents' Club
http://www.fccj.or.jp/static/aboutus/map.php
=============================================
================================================
SUBSCRIBERS: 11,082 as of April 14, 2004

STAFF
Written by Arjen van Blokland; Edited by Roland Kelts
(editors@japaninc.com)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER JAPAN-SPECIFIC NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.japaninc.com/subscribe_news.html

UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here:
http://www.japaninc.com/unsubscribe_news.html

ADVERTISING INFORMATION
To advertise in this newsletter, contact:
ads@japaninc.com

GET THE MAGAZINE
Subscribe at:
http://www.japaninc.net/mag/subs.html

FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
We welcome your viewpoint:
editors@japaninc.com
(NB Please do not reply to this newsletter -- it's outgoing only,
so we won't get it!)

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:
webmaster@japaninc.com

(C) Copyright 2004 Japan Inc Communications KK. All Rights Reserved.