Softbank takes on NTT with a cut-rate service
602321
TOKYO Softbank, a Japanese investor and telecommunications operator, said Monday that it would offer a cut-rate, fixed-line phone service on Dec. 1, hitting at the stronghold of Nippon Telegraph Telephone.
497434
Over the next month, NTT DoCoMo plans to test a Super 3G, or LTE (long-term evolution) cellular system capable of sending data at 300MBps.
16818
Japan's Softbank Corp. has said its net profit for the nine months to December jumped 23.1 percent from a year earlier after it entered the mobile phone market and sold off assets.
509055
British telecommunications company Cable &amp; Wireless PLC is selling its Japanese business to Tokyo-based broadband services provider Softbank Corp. for 12.3 billion yen (&#36;115 million).
294270
Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo said Friday that it has achieved wireless speeds in the laboratory of 1 Gbps. The operator has said for more than a year that it is working on
156050
Cable &amp; Wireless yesterday sold its Japanese business to Softbank Corp for Â£72.4m. The move is the last big part of the company&#39;s retrenchment and leaves it focused on Britain and a handful of former British colonies.
485907
Softbank, which acquired Japan Telecom this summer, today complained that its plan to offer mobile phone service could be thwarted by the government&#39;s refusal to provide the necessary bandwidth.
494203
Internet investor Softbank Corp. took another step Tuesday toward its goal of being a comprehensive Japanese telecommunications provider, by agreeing to purchase Cable &amp; Wireless IDC.
583421
Japanese telecoms and Internet  conglomerate Softbank Corp. (9984.T) plans to raise about 1.4  trillion yen (6.31 billion pounds) by securitizing the cash  flow of its Vodafone Japan operations, a source close to the  matter said on Tuesday.
123508
(InfoWorld) - Mobile operators need to rethink how they price their 3G data plans to better compete with fixed-line broadband services, according to the top executive at Singaporean operator MobileOneÂ (M1). "Operators need to move forward," said Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer, in a phone interview ahead of the Telecom World exhibition and conference organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Hong Kong. Last week, M1 announced plans to offer a faster 3G data service based on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), an upgrade to WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) networks that increases download speeds from 384KbpsÂ to 3.6Mbps. That service will be available in Singapore starting Wednesday. Rather than increasing its prices with the introduction of the faster service, M1 decided to offer users of the existing service a discount. It dramatically cut the price of its 3G data plan that offers unlimited access, from S$68 (US$44) per month to S$22 per month,. In addition, M1 introduced two HSDPA data plans with unlimited access -- one offering a maximum of 1.8Mbps and another offering 3.6Mbps -- for S$38 and S$68, respectively. Mobile data services based on 3G technology are generally expensive to use, partly because operators charge for data using a per-byte or per-minute pricing model similar to voice. As a result, 3G data services primarily serve business customers who can afford the premium charges, rather than the average mobile user. "We've got to look to the future," Montefiore said. "We've got to be competitive with current fixed broadband prices." Prior to the price cut, M1 sold about 500 3G data cards each month to users who wanted mobile data access. What impact the new pricing levels will have is not yet clear, but Montefiore does not expect to see a dramatic surge in adoption. These mobile user numbers could rise, as most Singaporean broadband users are still locked into 24-month service plans for their existing broadband connections, Montefiore said. "Over time, it will be an attractive way to get online," he said, adding that M1 will offer a more detailed forecast in January when the company announces its financial results. Telecom World runs through Friday, Dec. 8.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
704358
Japan's Softbank Corp  is  considering offering free calls between its mobile phone and  Web-based fixed line phone users to boost its subscriber base,  sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.
19998
(InfoWorld) - NTT DoCoMo came close to hitting another data transmission milestone in its research into next-generation cellular telephone systems during an experiment conducted in Japan on Dec. 25 last year. The company, Japan's leading cellular carrier, managed to transmit data at close to 5GbpsÂ to a receiver moving at 10 kilometers per hour, said Yoshiki Kakuda, a spokesman for the Tokyo company. He said the company's public relations department didn't know the exact speed achieved but that it was close to the 5Gbps mark. About a year earlier NTT DoCoMo succeeded inÂ transmitting data at 2.5GbpsÂ and this time managed to double that by increasing the number of MIMO (multiple in multiple out) transmitting and receiving antennas from six to 12 each and using better signal processing in the receiver. MIMO involves sending data using multiple antennas to increase the total throughput. The result was a doubling in the amount of data transmitted in the same 100MHz chunk of radio spectrum. Details of the experiment will be detailed at next week's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. NTT DoCoMo has been working on what it calls 4G (fourth-generation) technology for close to 10 years but the technology remains some way from commercialization. The carrier had previously said it plans to launch 4G in Japan around 2010 but recently indicated it plans to wring more speed out of its WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) 3G network before switching to a new technology. The carrier plans to launch a "Super 3G (third-generation)" service around 2010 that will offer data transmission at around 100Mbps. When NTT DoCoMo launched its 3G network in 2001, it could carry data at 384Kbps but that was recently raised to 3.6Mbps with the launch of an upgrade called HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access). Carriers in other countries are also deploying the faster technology on their networks.
608895
Softbank Corp , in a tight race  for customers in Japan's saturated mobile phone market, may  offer free calls between users of mobile phones and Web-based  phones, sources briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.
189858
SHOWING JUST HOW seriously it is taking its decision to concentrate on two platforms - Linux and Symbian, Japan&#39;s NTT DoCoMo has decided to sink $3 million in its Linux supplier, Montavista software.
132789
Japanese Internet firm Softbank has offered about 200 billion yen (1.96 billion dollars) to buy Tu-Ka mobile phone companies from Japan's second-ranked mobile phone carrier KDDI Corp., a news report said.
165955
Japanese communications firm Softbank is to buy the Japanese unit of Cable &amp; Wireless for $132 million (72 million pounds), making it the No
750201
British telecommunications company Cable &amp; Wireless PLC is selling its Japanese business to Tokyo-based broadband services provider Softbank Corp.