(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| New Non-PC Network Services Appear in Japan
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March 1, 1999 (TOKYO) -- New and easy-to-use network services using devices
like mobile telephones and video game machines rather than personal
computers are springing up in Japan.
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On Feb. 22, NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (NTT DoCoMo), Japan's
largest provider of mobile telephone services, launched a new network
service, called iMode, along with some new types of mobile phones that
customers can use to access the network.
The company expects to attract 3 million users for the service before
the end of this year, and over the next two or three years it is hoping
to see the number of users rise to around 10 million.
Sega Enterprises Ltd. started offering a new network service at the end
of November last year, the same time the company's new Dreamcast video
gaming machine went on sale. Customers of the Dreamcast machine can
use it to gain access to the network. Just around a month after the
service was inaugurated, the number of people using the network had
already surpassed 150,000. Sega expects that during this year the number
of its network users will grow to a million or more.
This April, IDO Corp. and DDI Corp.'s Cellular
Group are scheduled to start offering another service which will provide
data to users of the two companies' mobile phones. This new service
from IDO and DDI is intended as a direct response to NTT DoCoMo's launching
of the iMode service. The IDO and DDI services could possibly gain as
many as a million users by the end of this year. (See
chart 1.)
Other services that allow users to access the
Internet via their TVs, such as WebTV from WebTV Networks KK and NCTV
from U.S.-based Network Computer Inc. (NCI), are also expected to steadily
increase the number of their subscribers during the course of the year.
(See chart 2.)
Satellite broadcaster Japan Digital Broadcasting Services Inc. (SKY PerfecTV!)
is also to start offering a new data broadcasting service this April.
So, the number of network services that are not based on PCs has started
to rapidly increase, and, as this year wears on, it looks likely that
the network services industry in Japan will be undergoing some major
changes.
Network Business Heating Up
NTT DoCoMo's new iMode service is in reality a type of Internet access
service. Also, the new phones that the company has launched to go with
the service, the 501i Series models, are basically portable Internet
terminals equipped with Web browsers.
Users of the 501i Series phones can use them to do things like reserve
tickets for concerts or airline flights, to order books, and to buy
and sell stocks. They can also use the service to send and receive e-mail
messages (a particular user's e-mail address will simply be that user's
own telephone number followed by @docomo.ne.jp).
Already 67 different companies have decided to set up iMode sites where
they can offer their services to the network's users. These sites will
allow users to do things such as conduct financial transactions, reserve
airline tickets and buy products via the network.
Many companies that are positive about their use of the iMode network
as a new sales channel are considering it a first step towards offering
services through a wide variety of different e-commerce media. First
and foremost among these is Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., which is currently
promoting ticketless sales of seats on its flights.
Because services like iMode, based on mobile phones, are restricted by
the fact that the phones themselves have very small screens on which
to display data, many companies are having to rewrite their Web contents
to make them more text-based. However, on the plus side, there is no
need for them to make any changes to the servers and other hardware
devices they currently use in order to supply data for the new mobile
phone services.
Furthermore, because the cost of running the iMode service is completely
covered by the fees users pay for using their phones, companies that
make use of the network to offer their own services don't need to worry
about paying anything.
Lawson Inc., a major chain of 24-hour convenience stores, is selling
concert tickets via the iMode network, and is planning to take the concept
of selling tickets one step further.
The idea is that, first, the user reserves the ticket for the concert
or show of their choice by making use of the iMode service. Then, they
simply go along to their nearest Lawson convenience store where there
is a machine, called a Multimedia Kiosk Terminal, that will issue them
the ticket they have reserved on the spot. This means that users will
be able to get hold of tickets for popular concerts just by accessing
the iMode network and then visiting their neighborhood convenience store.
Dreamcast Targets Household Market
If the iMode network is the new big thing for mobile users, then Sega's
Dreamcast network is playing the same role for users who prefer to stay
home.
Sega also sees its Dreamcast game machine as a new type of network terminal,
and plans to create a network infrastructure over which users can purchase
goods.
The Dreamcast network is not a service offering ordinary Internet access.
Sega is providing its service using a special charging system that the
company has developed using I4 Corp.'s WebMoney prepaid cards for use
on the Internet. Sega plans to develop its own Internet site (dricas.com),
which is centered on TV games, as the portal site from which its users
can gain access to the network's other data providers.
The company will use the dricas.com site, the users of which will mainly
be children who enjoy playing games and mothers looking after young
children, in order to attract other businesses, such as toy manufacturers
and mail order catalog companies, to set up Web marketing and e-commerce
channels on the network.
A New Service to Challenge iMode
The remainder of this year will also see the appearance of other new
non-PC network services in addition to those from NTT DoCoMo and Sega
that have already been launched.
Currently attracting much attention is the new service to be jointly
set up and run by IDO and the DDI Cellular Group companies that will
provide data to mobile telephone users and that is scheduled to start
operations in April.
This service will be more or less the same as iMode, except that it will
incorporate the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) technology that is rapidly
becoming the industry standard, as recommended by major manufacturers
of mobile telephones such as U.S.-based Motorola Inc., Sweden's Ericsson
and Finland's Nokia.
In addition to allowing users to view pages on the Internet and to send
and receive e-mail messages with their mobile phones, IDO is also planning
to let them make use of a Personal Information Manager (PIM) as part
of its WAP service.
Apart from IDO and the DDI Cellular Group companies, the TU-KA Group
is also scheduled to launch services some time after the summer, and
the DDI Pocket Group of personal handyphohe system (PHS) operators is
also considering whether or not to adopt the service.
Osaka Yusen Offers WebTV Free-of-Charge
Services offering Internet access via ordinary TV sets, such as WebTV
and NCTV, also look as if they will continue to attract new users and
become more widely used.
In the case of WebTV, Osaka Yusen (Yusen Broadcasting Corp.) has been
providing WebTV terminals free-of-charge to all new subscribers to its
wired service, and to existing subscribers who have requested one, since
January. In this way, the company expects to distribute more than 60,000
of the terminals per year.
The company decided to start handing out WebTV terminals because of its
EPG (Electronic Program Guide) function. The number of channels that
Osaka Yusen provides its subscribers with is 440, and the company was
looking for a way to make it easier for subscribers to make use of the
service on offer.
On the other hand, NCTV will start providing services to TV users based
on CATV Internet services which were originally targeted at PC users.
For example, two cable TV operators, Town TV Narashino and Town TV Kanazawa,
are planning to start providing TV-based Internet access services using
NCTV terminals this April.
Satellite Data Broadcasting for TV Users
New moves are afoot even in the data broadcasting field. In April SKY
PerfecTV!, which already offers a data broadcasting service called SKY
PerfecPC! targeted at PC users, is to launch a similar data broadcasting
service for TV users. The new service will feature Multimedia and Hypermedia
Experts Group (MHEG) broadcasting technology.
This new service won't just be packaging data along with ordinary satellite
TV broadcasts. The special set-top box will allow for two-way communications,
meaning that users will be able to conduct e-commerce transactions.
At first, Digital Media Entertainment (DME), a company affiliated with
Sony Corp., plans to use the service to sell music data. Users will
be able to order and download the data during TV broadcasts of music
programs.
With all the developments outlined above taking place this year, it seems
highly probable that 1999 will become the year that non-PC networking
really starts to take off.
Furthermore, even more developments are in the pipeline, so new services
will continue to appear well into next year and beyond. These will include
wideband CDMA services, which will allow video data to be sent to and
from mobile phones, BS digital broadcasting services, and so-called
mobile broadcasting services that will provide data to users of car
navigation systems. The network service industry certainly looks as
if it is going to keep getting bigger and bigger.
Chart 1: Estimated growth of network infrastructure
for mobile users.
All estimates made by Nikkei Multimedia.
1) Mobile telephone text
data services.
2) Wideband CDMA portable telephone services capable
of handling video data.
3) Satellite data broadcasting services for
use with car navigation systems. |
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(return to news)
Chart 2: Estimated growth of network infrastructure
for household users.
All estimates made by Nikkei Multimedia. |
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(return to news)
Related stories:
� NTT DoCoMo to Launch Text Services for Mobile
Phones
� TU-KA Group Employs WAP Protocol for Mobile
Phone Service
� Sega Unveils Prepaid Internet Access Service for
Dreamcast
� WebTV to Distribute Free CD-ROM for Dreamcast
Net Service
(Jun Honma, Staff Editor, Nikkei
Multimedia)
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