I-mode ready for launch in Germany


Germany will be next for DoCoMo's i-mode service, according to Japanese media

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Dutch telco KPN Mobile is expected to offer NTT DoCoMo's I-mode web-surfing service in Germany from next month, Japanese media said Thursday.

That would be first launch of the popular service outside Japan. NTT DoCoMo holds a 15 percent stake in KPN Mobile.

The Nihon Keizai business daily said Japan's top mobile operator will transfer its I-mode technology to E-Plus, the German subsidiary of KPN Mobile.

With 7.5 million subscribers, E-Plus is the third-largest mobile phone operator in the German market with a share of about 16 percent.

Belgium, Netherlands next

The Nihon Keizai said NTT DoCoMo and E-Plus would offer German and English-language services comparable to those in Japan, such as e-mail, news, banking and ticket purchases.

It said NTT DoCoMo also planned to launch similar services in the Netherlands and Belgium in April, and in the U.S. around the end of this year.

Reuters reported that an official at NTT DoCoMo declined to comment on the report.

The newspaper also said Japanese handset makers Toshiba, NEC and Matsushita Communication and Mitsubishi Electric planned to produce I-mode compatible handsets for European market.

Shares in NTT DoCoMo were up 30,000 yen or 2.27 percent to 1.35 million yen by Thursday afternoon.