NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile phone carrier, will delay the launch of mobile Internet services in Europe because of technical problems at local operators, according to today's Asian Wall Street Journal.
The postponement would be the latest in a string of delays and glitches for DoCoMo as it prepares to spread its wings beyond Japan on the strength of its wildly successful 'i-mode' service. The firm has suffered several recalls of Net-enabled i-mode handsets, underscoring technical difficulties ahead of the launch of third-generation phones services that promise transmission of more data at greater speeds.
The newspaper quoted the firm's managing director, Kiyoyuki Tsujimura, as saying European operators were taking longer than expected to upgrade their systems to accommodate i-mode technology.
'Our i-mode-like services would be delayed by a quarter or two quarters,' Tsujimura was quoted as saying. The newspaper said DoCoMo had originally planned to introduce a version of i-mode in Europe by the end of next March.
I-mode, which allows cell phone users to call up data and information on the Net, has cemented DoCoMo's dominant position in Japan's mobile phone market, the world's second-largest. As of early July, 25 million subscribers had signed up to the service in Japan.
