WW-156 -- KDDI Goes on the Offensive to Keep Subscribers

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J@pan Inc presents the Wireless Watch Newsletter:

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

Commentary on the Business of Wireless in Japan
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Issue No. 156
Tuesday September 5, 2006
Tokyo

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CONTENTS

+ Viewpoint: KDDI Goes on the Offensive to Keep Subscribers

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+ Viewpoint: KDDI Goes on the Offensive to Keep Subscribers

Last week, KDDI announced an impressive new handset line-up
and the launch of new services this autumn. The
announcement was well timed as the pre-registration for
users to switch carriers - Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
- started on September 1. To attract new and retain
existing customers, KDDI has bet on a three-pillar
strategy.

The first pillar is music. In co-operation with Yamaha's
music chip division, KDDI has developed better sound
capabilities for mobile phones. In May, the first Walkman
keitai 'W32S' was introduced with a 1Gbyte internal memory
to story full-length songs. KDDI is further strengthening
its Lismo music service, which is similar to i-Tunes,
allowing both PCs and mobile phones to playback music.

The design phone is another of the company's pillars. The
'au design project' has produced two new handsets, HEXAGON
and MACHINA'. For this phone, KDDI hired Tokyo-based Sakai
Design Associate, which has Olympus's CAMEDIA phone and two
Nissan cars, the Rasheen and BE-1, to its credit.

The rollout of new services is KDDI's third pillar. This
autumn the company will introduce eight new services and a
new high-speed network technology - CDMA2000 1x EV-DO
Rev.A). EV-DO Rev.A gives an upstream speed of 1.8 Mbps and
download speed of 3.1 Mbps. KDDI plans a network evolution
towards VoiP by 2010.

Several new services, including video calling, the hourly
EZ news flash, and decoration mail, are already offered by
other carriers. KDDI wants to prevent subscribers from
defecting to carriers offering services it doesn't.
Decoration mail is an html-based mail service. EZ news
flash is a free hourly news and weather information
broadcast using BCMCS (Broadcast / Multicast Services)
technology. Now KDDI also offers automatic conversion of
'emoji' (pictograms used in email) when these are sent to
users of DoCoMo or Vodafone - a necessary service as the
pictogram systems of the three carriers are not
interoperable. Address book backup is another new service.

A completely new service is 'My Page' - a free personal
portal that can be accessed by mobile phone or PC. Users
can store mail and photos up to 100MB. Design tools are
available to customize the look and feel of the portal.
'My Page' also offers a blogging tool and a calendar.
'My Page' is a free service.

KDDI's rollout of new services and handsets is
impressive. Expect a quick response from DoCoMo and
Vodafone / Softbank. Stay tuned.

-- Arjen van Blokland
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The Tyler Foundation for Childhood Cancer presents:
Sports Extravaganza 2006, September 29 - October 1.

Cricket and rugby celebrities from the UK, South Africa,
India, Australia and New Zealand will come to Tokyo for 3
days of sport, fun and fundraising! Sports Dinner at the
Grand Hyatt, Golf Day and Celebrity Cricket match.
All proceeds benefit children with cancer in Japan.

Shine On! www.tylershineon.org
For more information on the Sports Extravaganza 2006,
please see: http://www.tylershineon.org/index.php/events/sports_extravaganza

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SUBSCRIBERS: 23,918 as of September 4, 2006

STAFF
Written by Arjen van Blokland; edited by the
J@pan Inc staff (editors@japaninc.com)

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