Eurotechnology Japan KK
::: Switching off 2G mobile in Japan :::
Softbank & DoCoMo switch off 2G             March 23, 2010
Greetings!

March 31, 2010 will be the last day of 2G mobile phone services by Softbank, and soon after Softbank will switch off all 2G base stations. NTT-DoCoMo will follow in March 2012. Thus after March 2012 there will be no more 2G cellphone services in Japan at all.

NTT-DoCoMo started 3G services in May 2001 for testing, and from October 2001 in full commercial service. Therefore the complete 2G->3G transition from start to finish will have taken 10 years and 10 months in Japan.

Japan has taken quite a different approach than Europe and countries in the "GSM zone": in GSM countries mobile phone handsets typically include 2G and 3G circuitry, and base stations use 2G or 3G transmission depending on the location. Many operators outside Japan have not yet started 3G services at all.

In Japan on the other hand, handsets are either 2G or 3G but not both, promoting a clear switch from 2G to 3G. This may have contributed to a faster development of 3G services in Japan - however, this time-lag also meant, that for Japan's highly advanced 3G based contents and services no market existed outside Japan yet. (More about this "Galapagos Effect" in my talk at the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo on May 19, 2010).

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::: Japan's conversion to 3G is approx. 95% complete :::
3G conversion in Japan SoftBank will switch off 2G services on March 31, 2010, and DoCoMo in March 2012.

Today about 95% of all mobile subcriptions in Japan are for 3G services.

PHS provider Willcom filed for bankruptcy.
::: Presentation schedule :::
Planned presentation schedule:

Monday April 19, 2010 (MIT Enterprise Forum, MIT, Boston MA, USA):
"Next Generation Payment Solutions". (keynote speaker: Gerhard Fasol)
Information and registration | Related reports |

Wednesday April 21, 2010 (National Institute for Standards and Technology NIST, Washington DC)
Gerhard Fasol (speaker)
(details to be announced)

Wednesday May 19, 2010 (EIJS Series, Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo, Japan):
Gerhard Fasol (speaker):
"The beauty of Japan's Galapagos effect - and how to go beyond".
Abstract: Japan has tremendous cultural impact on the world. However, even Japan's government officials now talk about the Galapagos effect: i-Mode, keitai, electronic money and Shinkansen are fantastic, but are largely confined to the islands of Japan.  This talk will show why our world is a better place with even more of Japan's creativity - not less, and why some aspects of the Galapagos effect are welcome and create good opportunities. The speaker will include experience from working as the only  non-Japanese on Japan's "post-Galapagos committee", and will show that for foreign companies working to enter and grow in Japan's markets it is better to understand the Galapagos effect and live and work WITH it, rather than against it.

Information and registration (to be announced) | Related presentation |

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::: Eurotechnology Japan newsletter schedule :::
Newsletter schedule:

April 2010 issue:
"Japan's media revolution"
Based on Eurotechnology-Japan market research and presentations to top management of several of Europe's largest TV, newspaper and media corporations, and at the Global Media Forum BCWW2009 in Seoul, Korea.

May 2010 issue (planned - changes may occur):
"Electronic money and mobile payments"
Based on Eurotechnology-Japan market research and on presentations to executives of major US corporations in Japan at the American Chamber of Commerce (ACCJ), at MIT Enterprise Forum (Boston, MA), and other executive presentations.

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::: About us :::
Founded in 1996/1997 in Tokyo, Eurotechnology Japan KK focuses on telecommunications and environmental industries. We work on M&A and help foreign companies grow in Japan, we help Japanese companies globalize, and we have advised about 100 investment fund managers over the years on technology industries. Our founder Gerhard Fasol works with Japan's telecom industry since 1984.
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Your Eurotechnology-Japan Team
Eurotechnology Japan K. K.
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