TOKYO-Chubu Telemessage Inc., a beeper carrier based in the Nagoya metropolitan area of central Japan, will shut down its business by March 2000. The carrier’s subscribers-109,000 at the end of September-are expected to be taken over by NTT Tokai Mobil Communications Network Inc., the regional operator of NTT DoCoMo.
Like many other Japanese paging carriers, Chubu Telemessage has accumulated debts because many former pager users have switched to either PHS or cellular services. Chubu Telemessage’s subscriber base peaked at 590,000 in June 1997, but has been shrinking since then.
Since Tokyo Telemessage Inc., the largest non-NTT beeper carrier in Tokyo, announced termination of its services in May, several other paging carriers followed suit.
It seems the Japanese paging market will return to a monopoly soon.
Other paging carriers declaring termination of their services include Kansai Telemessage Inc., Ehime Telemessage Inc., Kagawa Telemessage Inc., Kochi Telemessage Inc., Kyushu Telemessage Inc. and Yamanashi Telemessage Inc.
