TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, and Nissan, the second-largest automobile company in Japan, on 19 February announced they plan to jointly launch car multimedia services for automobiles using NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA third-generation service. According to the companies, starting in around 2003, both firms will provide telematics services by fully using advanced technology such as GPS and voice-recognition technology. Starting in around 2004, they will launch a variety of applied services in cooperation with other companies in various industries.
As a prelude, Nissan plans to launch telematics service in March using current generation (2G) mobile phones. Toyota, the largest auto maker in Japan and the rival of Nissan, is also planning to provide telematics service in cooperation with KDDI, the second-largest mobile operator in Japan. Toyota is one of the largest shareholders of KDDI.
