Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Re: Reuters - "DoCoMo, AT&T set (scaled-back) 3G launch in U.S."

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 14:03:22 -0500

Interesting NTT DoCoMo is touting it's WCDMA launch while AT&T is cautiously testing the water.
IMO- AT&T has the correct approach. Research from the Yankee Group and others show that mobile data only accounts for
only 3%~~6% of a carrier's revenue stream. Mobile Data use outside the business world is limited and consumer demand does not justify the cost of advance services at this
time.

Marcel-
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AT&T Wireless Delays Rollout of Services
Fri Dec 27, 8:54 AM ET

REDMOND, Wash. - AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is sharply curtailing
plans to launch services over a high-speed data wireless network,
announcing Thursday it will target four cities instead of 13 markets as
originally envisioned.

The Redmond, Wash.-based wireless
telecommunications company also said it will
delay the planned rollout of new services on the
network by about six months to December
2004.

"We believe that this is a prudent use of
capital," said David Caouette, an AT&T
Wireless spokesman. "This is about pacing it
appropriately and gearing it to the right
customer demand along the way."

The four cities — Seattle, San Francisco, San
Diego and Dallas — were selected as the
places with "the greatest potential for this new
technology," Caouette said.

The announcement reflects how deeply the
mobile telecommunications industry has been
forced to retreat as companies struggle to sign
up new customers and cope with constant
competitive price wars.

In 2000, as Japan's largest mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, announced a $9.8
billion investment in AT&T Wireless, the companies said they planned to roll
out service based on the "wideband code-division multiple access
technology" by mid-2004 for 13 of the top markets in the United States.

The carrier is forming a committee to track and evaluate how successful the
service is and to determine how and where it ought to be introduced.

Shares of AT&T Wireless were down 13 cents a share to close at $6.33 on
the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) Thursday. They gained 2
cents in extended trading.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20021227/ap_on_hi_te/at_t_wireless_delay_2

Anthony Townsend wrote:

> http://news.com.com/2100-1033-978813.html
>
> DoCoMo, AT&T set 3G launch in U.S.
> By Reuters
> December 26, 2002, 9:43 AM PT
> http://news.com.com/2100-1033-978813.html
> NTT DoCoMo, Japan's dominant mobile phone company, said Thursday it
> will begin offering third-generation (3G) wireless data services in
> four U.S. cities with AT&T Wireless by December 2004.
>
> The service, which offers high-speed Internet access and face-to-face
> video calling, will be launched in San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and
> San Diego.
>
> It will be the first deployment of 3G wireless data services based on
> the high-speed W-CDMA (wideband code division multiple access) format,
> DoCoMo said.
>
> DoCoMo has until now struggled to attract customers to its year-old 3G
> service, the world's first using the W-CDMA format, but has expressed
> high hopes that it would become a new driver of profit growth.
>
> Despite features such as face-to-face video phone calling and fast
> downloading from the Internet, users have been put off by frequent
> battery recharges, a limited coverage area and high handset prices.
>
> To tackle these obstacles, DoCoMo this month rolled out 3G mobile
> phones with a much longer battery life--170 to 180 hours in standby
> mode compared with 125 hours in its last model--and promised more
> improvements next year.
>
> DoCoMo's 3G network now covers more than 80 percent of Japan's
> population and is set to reach 90 percent by next March.
>
> Rival KDDI's 3G phones typically last up to 200 hours or more between
> recharges, and with its wider coverage the No. 2 mobile operator has
> amassed 4 million 3G subscribers compared with around 150,000 for
> DoCoMo.
>
> DoCoMo aims to roll out 3G services with international roaming, which
> would let subscribers make calls overseas.
>
> Under the latest agreement with its U.S. affiliate AT&T Wireless, the
> two companies will set up a special committee to map out 3G rollout
> plan.
>
> In addition, another DoCoMo official will become AT&T Wireless's
> director, underlining a larger direct influence on AT&T Wireless.
>
> Hit by soured overseas investments including its investment in AT&T
> Wireless, NTT DoCoMo posted a 95.3 percent fall in half-year net profit
> in November.

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