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First commercial 3G service launches in Japan

TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, on 1 October launched the world’s first commercial third-generation (3G) service. More than 4,000 3G handsets sold on the first day of the service.

Three different kinds of 3G handsets—a standard type, visual phone and card type—began selling at 260 outlets in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Initially, DoCoMo’s 3G services, called Foma, are being offered only in the central part of Tokyo. DoCoMo is going to expand the service to the Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas in December and will launch the service in major cities around the country in the second quarter of 2002.

The carrier is targeting to win 150,000 users by the end of March 2002. Keiji Tachikawa, president of DoCoMo, on 3 October said he is happy because the carrier made a good start.

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