Internet
Fibre to the home (FTTH) connections in Japan grew nearly 10% in the second quarter of 2007 to account for 36% of the country's broadband connections, according to Informa Telecoms & MediaÆs World Broadband Information Service (WBIS). The study indicates that FTTH is rapidly displacing DSL in Japan, with the total number of DSL subscriptions in the country going down by about 1.6%. Japan accounts for more than two-thirds of the global FTTH market and holds 48% of the combined FTTH and FTTP (Fibre to the premises) market, according to WBIS. The report notes that South Korea and Taiwan are the two other countries with large FTTP markets. At present, fibre is also rapidly being deployed in China, with the country having an FTTx capacity of 15 million lines, which can be extended to provide FTTH. In Europe, Italy remains the leading country with regard to FTTH, accounting for 3.4% of global FTTH connections.
According to its CEO, Softbank is in talks with Alibaba to set up a joint venture as early as next year. Industry observers say venture is an important for Alibaba following its $1.5 billion IPO. To be based in Japan, the joint venture will bring AlibabaÆs services to mobile customers, an area the company is reportedly interested in tapping. The deal is also important because Softbank holds a 33% stake in Alibaba group. Details about the size of the investment weren't disclosed.
Mobile/Wireless
GreenPeak Technologies, a leader in battery-free communication technology for wireless sense and control applications, announced that it has set up a sales office in Tokyo, Japan. GreenPeak said it has appointed of Yoshinori Furuno to head the new office as director of business development. Prior to joining GreenPeak, Furuno was a regional sales director and country manager with Airgo Networks, where he lead the team in developing and managing strategic customer and partner relationships in Japan. He has also held positions at Agere Systems and Lucent Technologies, where he was instrumental in bringing Wi-Fi to OEMs in Japan and the Asia Pacific region. Formed through the recent merger of Xanadu Wireless and Ubiwave, GreenPeak is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands and has offices in Belgium and Tokyo. GreenPeak is backed by venture capitalists DJF Esprit (UK), GIMV (Belgium), Motorola Ventures (U.S.) and Allegro Investment Fund (Belgium).
Sierra Wireless announced that a Fujitsu notebook computer to be AirCard Enabled with Sierra Wireless embedded modules is now certified and available for use on the NTT DoCoMo network in Japan. With the integrated Sierra Wireless MC8780 embedded module, the new notebook offers the latest in mobile broadband network technology to keep customers connected to the information they need from wherever their travels take them. This is the first AirCard Enabled notebook computer to be offered in Japan. Sierra Wireless, which is headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, posted revenues of $221 million in 2006.
Walt Disney Co will begin mobile phone services in Japan's $81 billion market under the name of Disney Mobile in the spring of next year, using Softbank Corp's network. The companies will also work together on handsets, services, content development and marketing.
NTT DoCoMo Inc is set to bid at least $1 billion for a stake in MobiFone, Vietnam's No.2 mobile phone carrier, according to an NTT DoCoMo official. NTT DoCoMo joins France Telecom and Singapore Telecommunications, which have also expressed an interest in MobiFone. JapanÆs biggest mobile phone operator is reportedly also interested in making investments in other Asian countries, including China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. MobiFone plans an IPO in 2008 and has plans to sell a one-third stake as part of its move towards privatisation.
Semiconductors
NEC Electronics Corp., Japan's third-biggest chip maker, has made an investment worth some Ñ10 billion ($90 million) to begin production of smaller chips for electronics, including Nintendo Co.'s Wii console and Sony Corp.'s Bravia TVs. The countryÆs No. 3 chip maker explained the spending as covering the purchase and installation of an ASML Holding NV lithography machine, a device that burns transistor patterns on silicon wafers.
Telecommunications
Willcom Inc. of Japan and China Network Communications Group Corp., the second-largest fixed-line telecommunications firm in China, has formed an alliance in PHS (personal handyphone system) operations. Under the partnership, CNC is to receive technological guidance from Willcom with the aim of readying its data communications service for the Chinese market before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The two companies said they will also talk about an international roaming service in which a subscriber can access the partner firm's PHS network when traveling to another country. At present, there are about 93.3 million PHS subscribers in China. Willcom is a telecom company operating a PHS network covering almost all of Japan, and has the largest share of Japanese PHS market.
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