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The launch in Germany, which could take place as soon as March, will mark I-mode's first foray into Europe and will precede plans by DoCoMo's Dutch partner Royal KPN to introduce the service as early in April in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Under the licensing pact, NTT DoCoMo will provide E-Plus with the patents, service know-how, and technologies needed to launch the service, initially on the GPRS network and later on third-generation (3G) mobile networks. The deal will remain valid from 18 February 2002 to 01 January 2012, during which time NTT DoCoMo will collect licensing fees.
Through I-mode, users in Japan have been able to use a variety of mobile Internet applications and content, such as entertainment and information including travel, games, weather, restaurant guides, maps, polyphonic ringing tones, pictures and more.
I-mode has been highly lucrative in Japan for NTT and is considered an important stepping-stone on the road to 3G services. It is thought that services like I-mode can help to familiarise users with advanced multimedia mobile services, and will subsequently encourage them to spend more.
Last year, NTT DoCoMo, which owns 15 percent of KPN Mobile, agreed to transfer and license I-mode technologies to KPN Mobile N.V. for the launch of I-mode service in the Netherlands and Belgium. Subsequently KPN Mobile sublicensed the technologies to its wholly owned subsidiaries KPN Mobile The Netherlands B.V. and KPN Orange Belgium NV/SA.
Although KPN controlled over 75 percent of E-plus, the unit did not become a fully owned subsidiary until recently, which may have blocked the addition of I-mode to the German network until now. But last month Bell South exchanged its 22.51 percent stake in E-plus for KPN shares. Under that deal KPN issued 234.7 million shares, or 9.4 percent of the KPN Group, to the American Telecom, making it the largest shareholder next to the Dutch government.
In Japan I-mode has around 30 million subscribers and throughout the late 90's and over the past few years the service was the envy of mobile operators throughout Europe who were struggling to lunch their own fast and highly lucrative mobile services. E-plus has around 7.5 million subscribers, who will soon have access to I-mode, far more than the 6.2 million users of KPN mobile and KPN Orange users in both the Netherlands and Belgium combined.
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