WW-122 -- Breaking News Live from France! -- A new milestone for i-mode: 2 million subscribers outside Japan

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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 Japan's Wireless World
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Wireless Watch Newsletter
Issue No. 122
Thursday, February 26, 2004
TOKYO

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

CONTENTS

@@ Viewpoint: Breaking News Live from France! -- A new milestone for
i-mode: 2 million subscribers outside Japan

================ OUT NOW! ================

In the MARCH issue of J@PAN INC magazine:

>> MINATO'S MAGIC
Is Kohei Minato for real? For 30 years, the maverick inventor has
been toiling away on his masterpiece: a magnetic machine that produces
more power than it uses. Now the orders are rolling in and investors are
salivating. We visit his backstreet Shinjuku laboratory to find out why.

>> INSPIRED BY IMPORTS
Since 1997, Tokyo Designer's Week (TDW) has been marrying commerce
to art in boffo exhibitions bringing together international designers
and top-shelf corporate sponsors. As the organizers gear up for their
2004 festival, Roland Kelts speaks with participants both homegrown and
from afar.
READ IT HERE: http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=1299

>> Is TOKYO REAL ESTATE undergoing a REVIVAL? -- Or are massive
developments in the center of the city dragging down the value
of the fringes?

>> KDDI and DOCOMO show you the latest in cellphone shopping.

PLUS: this month's killer gadget gizmos, investing as the yen soars,
the latest consumer surveys, and ... forget the Oscars! Tarantino,
Coppola and Cruise have done it here -- and we'll show you
how to shoot your own movie in Japan.

Out NOW at (better) newsstands, and online at:
www.japaninc.com

Check us out!
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Temple University Japan will hold an information session for its top-
ranked Executive MBA program at its Minami-Azabu campus on February 28
at 11 a.m. This will be the final information session for classes
beginning in May 2004.

Applications are due April 1. The Financial Times ranks Temple as one
of the top EMBA programs in the world.

For more information, please call: 0120-86-1026, or e-mail:
business@tuj.ac.jp
Web: www.tuj.ac.jp/emba
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@@ Viewpoint: Breaking News Live from France! -- A new milestone for
i-mode: 2 million subscribers outside Japan

Big news from the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes. The number of i-mode
subscribers outside Japan exceeded 2 million at the end of January. This
was a blast of sunlight for DoCoMo under the cloudy skies of the
Cote d但zur.

I-mode is currently available through seven operators: KPN Mobile
(in the Netherlands), E-Plus (Germany), BASE (Belgium),
Far East Tone (Taiwan), Bouygues Telecom (France), Telefonica Moviles
(Spain) and WIND (Italy).

Greek operator Cosmote will launch i-mode prior to the upcoming Athens
Olympics.

It was important for the European i-mode operators to convince local
content parties to provide i-mode content. The i-mode revenue share is
more attractive for content providers than for other carriers. T-Mobile
and Vodafone sell ringtones, wallpapers and games under their own brand,
thereby directly competing with other content providers, something KPN
and Bouygues don稚 do.

Bouygues and KPN provide i-mode premium subscriptions -- not pay-per-
downloads. As in Japan, subscriptions do not expire by the end of the
month but are automatically extended until the customer cancels the
subscription. According to Bouygues's i-mode roadmap manager, Cedric
Nicolas, half of the i-mode users subscribe to three premium services,
and the average subscription period is 6 months.

Among the i-mode operators outside Japan, we are most impressed by
Bouygues Telecom, who have signed up more than 500,000 subscribers.
Their i-mode approach is closest to what DoCoMo has done in Japan.

A major difference between Bouygues and KPN and Telefonica is that
Bouygues fully committed itself to i-mode. Telefonica -- which does
not carry the i-mode brand -- promotes WAP- and MMS-services as well.

The KPN Group provides i-mode services for handsets, like Nokia and
Siemens, that are not completely i-mode compliant. This makes it
difficult and more costly for content providers to render content for
all phones. Bouygues, to the contrary, only supports i-mode phones
that are 100 percent i-mode compliant, like the NEC, Toshiba and
Mitsubishi phones.

This year, Bouygues will face stiff competition from French operator
SFR, who recently introduced mobile Internet services based on Vodafone
Live!. I-mode subscriber growth in the Netherlands and Germany suffered
from the launch of the Vodafone Live! services. Only after introducing
i-mode for prepaid users did KPN see a dramatic growth in i-mode.

European i-mode market growth must mainly come from existing i-mode
operators, as KPN痴 offer to acquire English mmO2 was rebuffed last week.
There were rumors in Cannes that DoCoMo had an interest in developing
closer ties with mmO2. Will they singe their fingers again after their
disastrous investment in KPN? Stay tuned.

-- Arjen van Blokland, reporting from France

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================== EVENT ===============
G-MAC's "5th Annual Japan's Int'l Banking & Securities System Forum 2004"
Date: March 18 - 19
Location: Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)

This two-day forum provides a better understanding of front, middle
and back office systems with its concentrated agenda. Invited guest
speakers will give their domestic & global outlook on STP/ Banking
&Securities initiatives.

Also, leading solution providers will be presenting free Workshop
sessions presenting products & services in designing and implementing
a front/middle/back office strategy.
Tel: 81-3-5805-6070, email: info@gmacjapan.com, www.gmacjapan.com
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Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo -- March Seminar

Ms. Ruriko Nomura is the President of Hopes Inc., a frontier company
aiming to establish an educational consulting field. Her presentation
is entitled: "Starting a Business Without Capital."
Come out and learn about the opportunities in the Japanese business
world that she discovered.

Date: Tuesday, March 2. Language: English
http://www.ea-tokyo.com Email: info@ea-tokyo.com
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SUBSCRIBERS: 9,935 as of February 26, 2004

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

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