Thursday, July 21, 2005
Posted by Roberto
3:22 PM
0 comments
JAPAN: VIDEO PHONES AND DATA SERVICES
NTT DoCoMo is one of the most innovative players in the global cellular business. In 2001 it became the first carrier in the world to offer 3G. In the first two years after the launch they acquired 1 million subscribers. Today they are having trouble finding growth in a nearly saturated market.
The biggest problem that they are facing is that 80% of NTT DoCoMo customers are not using data services (or only slightly). Their mobile phones offer some cute features for women who don't want to pick up a video phone call when they're not wearing makeup. A cartoon character is shown (avatar) and when they're ready they can switch over to live video. But this is not the point. Wireless phones are a great invention, asynchronous text messaging (SMS) has become a new language, but being live on camera when we receive calls feels like a scary thought more than added value. The video phone service is not rooted in our culture. On 2.5G networks, we answer all incoming calls, at any time in any place. How many times did we receive calls while being in the shower? We just get out, we sit on the toilet, and we are ready to converse.
Can we add value to the UMTS experience? Yes, but we should be transmitting more individual information (ID, Subject, Priority Level) during the call-establishment process so that participants will have the chance to better prepare for the incoming call and decide whether to accept, reject or pass the call on to a secretary.
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