Japan Communications to launch Japan’s 1st virtual mobile services

TOKYO—Japan Communications Inc. said it will launch data communications services for corporate users in November using DDI Pocket’s Personal Handyphone System (PHS) networks, the firm announced 22 August. It will be Japan’s first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service. DDI Pocket, the largest PHS carrier in Japan, recently announced it would unbundle some of its PHS networks and sell them wholesale to non-facilities-based carriers by the end of September.
Using the unbundled DDI Pocket’s PHS networks, Japan Communications will provide data communications services for corporate users. Japan Communications plans to provide a PHS data card. By inserting the PHS card into their PC or PDA, users will be able to run a variety of business-oriented applications on their terminals.
Japan Communications will initially provide its service with 32 kbps data transmission speed. Once DDI Pocket launches 128 kbps services, Japan Communications will provide 128 kbps service