THE HAUGE, The Netherlands—KPN Mobile said it will begin offering mobile data services based on i-mode, the technology developed by its Japanese partner NTT DoCoMo, on 18 April. The operator said it has reached agreements with more than 50 national and international content partners and will have more than 65 “certified” sites at launch.
Certified sites have been checked for quality, freshness, ease of use and customer service. “Open” sites also are available. These sites have not been certified by KPN. About 50 percent of content services will be free at launch, with the expectation they will be charged after an initial trial period.
The NEC N21i will be the first handset sold in the Netherlands for the service. The Toshiba TS21i will be available in the second half of the year.
