DoCoMo on track for 3G debut


NTT DoCoMo President Keiji Tachikawa

By CNN's Kristie Lu Stout and reports

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- NTT DoCoMo said that it is on track for Monday's debut of the world's first fully commercial third-generation (3G) wireless service.

NTT DoCoMo president Keiji Tachikawa told reporters at a press conference on Thursday that his company is ready to provide 3G services after a three-month setback.

Tachikawa also said he welcomes the presence of hard-hitting rivals like Vodafone in Japan, the second-largest telecom market in the world and active testing ground of cutting-edge mobile services.

Trial glitches solved

"The FOMA service will start on October 1 as planned," he said.

On May 30, Japan's leading mobile carrier launched its trial service of the world's first 3G mobile service.

"We have solved most of the problems experienced during the trial service period," said Tachikawa.

DoCoMo also said that it expects its monthly average revenue per user, or ARPU, for its 3G service to rise to $84.84.

Earlier this week, DoCoMo said it would begin selling three mobile handsets that are compatible with its upcoming 3G service.

The three handsets to go on sale include the standard-type, video-type and data card-type models.

DoCoMo will sell the handsets, along with data cards and connection cables, at its retail shops within the planned 3G service area, a 30-kilometer radius in central Tokyo.

Japan's dominant mobile operator expects to sell 150,000 3G handsets by the end of the fiscal year to March.

Fierce rivalry

DoCoMo's Tachikawa also said that he welcomes fierce rivalry for the sake of healthy competition and better service offerings.

"Vodafone, using its expertise in the global market, may be able to launch new services or offer new changes" in Japan, he said.

Over the last year, Vodafone has been moving aggressively into Japan.

Last week, the British mobile heavyweight agreed to pay $2.7 billion in cash to take control of Japan Telecom, Japan's third largest telecom firm.

Vodafone has been eager to increase its stake in J-Phone, Japan Telecom's wireless unit, to better take on NTT DoCoMo.

Vodafone chief executive Sir Christopher Gent told the Financial Times this week he is skeptical about DoCoMo's upcoming 3G commercial service launch.

"Three cheers for DoCoMo if they manage to get the service open (but) I think it's unlikely to be a full commercial service," said Gent.