Japan’s second largest mobile service provider KDDI is moving westward to offer services to Japanese people in US owing to the almost saturated condition of Japan’s mobile market.
KDDI Corp., cellular phone operator in Japan second only to market leader NTT DoCoMo Inc has come up with a campaign to offer cellular phone services in the United States aiming Japanese subscribers via the network of US operator, a company spokesperson said on April 9, 2007 as news published on Khaleej Times.
KDDI is planning to have collaboration with another CDMA service provider, Sprint Nextel to offer service in USA. As per KDDI representative, the company will initially tap Japanese market with mobile users who would be either Japanese citizens working in US or ex-pats.
Positive reaction for company is that mobile crazy people have high expectation that the company will introduce sophisticated mobile handsets in US market with cellular service as well. Japanese mobile technologies are superior to US and have many hi-tech features that are non-available in US made handsets. Japanese handsets are not easily obtainable in US markets.
A new KDDI brand would be created to commence the services and is all set to start a localized company for operations, KDDI America Inc.
In the anticipation of home market getting saturated, Japanese mobile operators are searching for business opportunities outside their country. KDDI’s decision to expand overseas has come in response of its facing amplified competition at homeground from October due to Japan government policy that allows changing mobile service provider without changing the its number.
As per a research Analyst at RNCOS, “Japanese mobile market does not offer any further potential to support mobile service giants and consequently cellular service providers are expanding their base outside country so as to ensure growth and profitability. KDDI’s strategy of expanding its operations to west is explicable as it is planning to tap potential Japanese population who are mobile users as well as benefit by introducing Japenese high-tech mobile sets in USA. If KDDI succeeds, it will have to compete with other major cellular service provider Helio that has main business of supplying South Korean mobile phones in US market”.
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