Wifi Revolution

The government of Japan has granted licenses to KDDI Corp., a mobile phone operator and Willcom Inc., a Carlyle owned Japanese handy-phone company, for future high-speed wireless Internet services.

 

WiMAX (News - Alert) is much more advanced than WiFi technology, and provides quick Internet access on laptops and other mobile devices while a user is traveling, in contrast to WiFi that only works within a certain proximity to a transmitter.

 

KDDI and Willcom won in a bidding war, which also involved mobile carriers NTT DoCoMo (News - Alert) Inc. and Softbank Corp.

 

The Japanese government maintains tight controls over wireless services, and according to AP reports, it had stated previously that it would allow only two companies to offer WiMAX. Though other companies can provide WiMAX services, but they will have to lease the frequencies from KDDI or Willcom.

 

KDDI reportedly is planning to launch next-generation wireless broadband services in the summer of 2009 using the WiMAX standard through a joint venture with firms such as Intel Corp.

 

The KDDI-led group, which also includes electronics component maker Kyocera (News - Alert) Corp, is expected to spend 144 billion yen through to fiscal 2013 on building a network and for other expenses, company officials said.

 

However, the company told the press that it would be tough for them to make this service profitable looking at the initial costs of developing the infrastructure. Reports state that KDDI estimates its plan would need to spend $1.3 billion on the project by the end of the 2013 business year.

 

Nikkei, a business daily in Japan, reports that Willcom also plans to begin providing services in 2009, with 200 billion yen earmarked for investment through to fiscal 2015. In addition, it aims to use next-generation PHS technology that is significantly faster than its existing PHS service and it will try to get its technology adopted overseas.

 

Nikkei also reports that Softbank — which was planning to work with Internet services provider eAccess Ltd. — has submitted a complaint to the telecommunications ministry about the decision.

 

 

Back to WiFi Revolution home