repsonse from jeff funk:
the answer is very simple. the japanese service providers pay retail outlets
between 30,000 and 40,000 yen when they sign up a new subsriber and about
half that amount when retail outlets upgrade an existing subscriber to new
phones. as you know, US and European service providers pay much smaller
amounts to retail outlets. the larger activation commissions paid by
japanese service providers means that japanese manufacturers can put a lot
of technology in the phone and consumers can obtain them for almost free.
my forthcoming book from macmillan discusses this and the global handest
market in a great deal of detail.
Response:
Sounds reasonable. I agree with the statement that a high commission is a
significant factor. However, the difference between some European countries
and Japan is not that much. In some countries, such as Belgium, a commission
is not allowed by law. In other countries, like the Netherlands, their are
commissions. These commissions range from EUR 100 to EUR 250, depending on
many factors mostly based on perceived future revenue generation. With a
little compensation for general price levels this would come very close to
the 30.000 yen you mention. Still, our handsets don't even look like the
Japanese models introduced a year ago (and with a price-tag that would
enable substantial payments from the network operator to the customer in the
form of minutes/packages).
Best regards,
Paul
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Received on Fri Mar 16 19:13:57 2001