AT&T Wireless to Be Launching Pad
For DoCoMo's I-Mode Debut in U.S.
Nikkei Net Interactive
TOKYO -- AT&T Wireless Services Inc., the third-largest U.S. cellular
phone company, plans to offer NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s i-mode
Internet-compatible cell-phone service in the U.S. from this fall,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Zeglis said Thursday.
The U.S. debut will boost i-mode's availability outside Japan to 40
million people, including those in Europe.
AT&T Wireless will start offering i-mode in 24 U.S. cities this fall,
including Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas and Seattle, Zeglis said in an
interview with The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. It plans to expand the service
to all major cities by year-end to enable its more than 19.5 million
American subscribers to use the wireless Internet access service.
The firm will provide English-language services similar to those offered
by DoCoMo in Japan: e-mail, news distribution, bank transactions and
ticket purchases. Motorola Inc., Finnish firm Nokia Corp., Sweden's
Ericsson and NEC Corp. plan to market handsets specifically for the new
service.
DoCoMo has a 16% stake in AT&T Wireless, which already offers a data
distribution service called mMode. It decided to offer i-mode as well
because of DoCoMo's cutting-edge technology, and has developed handsets
compatible with both services. It will market the two services under the
mMode brand.
DoCoMo's i-mode technology enables content providers to more easily
enter the market because it is easier to create Web sites for it and
content providers can add information fees to phone bills.
Received on Fri May 3 20:38:23 2002