DoCoMo urged to open network to rivals

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan's Telecom Ministry is pressuring NTT DoCoMo to open its network to other carriers at rates approved by the government.

Japanese telecom authorities are introducing the measure in its telecom legislation reform package that they hope will receive cabinet approval later this month, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily.

The move is part of a growing government effort to curtail potential market abuse from the nation's largest phone services provider.

More action to stimulate competition

Japan's telecom authorities will require all NTT DoCoMo connection rates to receive government approval, the Nihon Keizai reports.

The proposal reflects a concern that DoCoMo's stranglehold on the market enables it to charge excessively high connection fees to operators that must connect calls to its network.

The move is part of a wider effort to lower rates, and arrives in the wake of calls from the U.S. and E.U. for more action to stimulate competition in Japan's telecom sector.

Recently, NTT DoCoMo was asked by the government to widen the content offerings of its I-mode Internet data service beyond its proprietary menu of 1,480 premium sites and 40,053 independent sites.

Analysts say the government was motivated by fair competition issues to open up the I-mode service to all Internet content providers.

NTT DoCoMo's high domestic market penetration is unparalleled in other developed nations.

The telco holds a 60 percent share of the Japanese mobile phone market and is the nation's biggest company by market capitalization.

Business
NTT pressured to delay L-mode launch
March 7, 2001
Business
I-mode widens menu as users top 20m
March 6, 2001

DoCoMoNet

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.