Mobile Communications - NTT DoCoMo to End 2G Services by 2012
November 29, 2004
Following earlier announcements to end its primary 2G line, NTT DoCoMo recently said it would phase out 2G services by 2012. Partly seen as a move to accelerate 3G adoption, the decision was also meant to cut down cost and provide more advanced services.
The Japanese operator rolled out 3G services, called FOMA, in 2001 and had had an aggregate subscriber base of 6.5 million by the end of October 2004. Yet its scale still fails to compare with the 2G "MOVA" services. Currently, there are more than 40 million MOVA subscribers, which account for 85% of NTT DoCoMo's total subscriber base.