3G subscribers top six million in Japan

[Bugwart]

March 11, Digitimes: 3G subscribers top six million in Japan

http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Ar...ages=09&seq=55

February 2003 3G Subscribers
KDDI (CDMA2000 1xRTT) 5,891,900
NTT DoCoMo (FOMA-WCDMA) 191,500
J Phone 9,900
Total 6,093,300

96.7% CDMA2000
3.1% WCDMA

[northform]

So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

[jmccrane]

Originally posted by: northform So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

Yeah, and unfortunately they still beat our country, which is 100% at 56k (or 115k Max for GPRS and 1xRTT) and 0% at higher-speed from cell phones.

[Bugwart]

So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

I am just wondering how many Japanese subscribers have you asked about this? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

[jmccrane]

Originally posted by: Bugwart So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds. I am just wondering how many Japanese subscribers have you asked about this? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

Actually it refers to your CDMA vs. wCDMA breakdown in your original post.

[Bugwart]

Originally posted by: northform So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

According to the Morgan Stanley report from last Fall, CDMA 1x provides day to day speeds of 100 to 120 kbps, whereas NTTDoCoMo's FOMA network provides 80 to 90 kbps.

My cable modem runs much faster than 90 kbps.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[northform]

Morgan Stanley is wrong and you are a schnook if you believe that.

EDIT: Morgan Stanley was probably refering to 1xEV-DO not 1xRTT. If they were refering to 1xRTT they definitely have a stake in Qualcomm.

[Bugwart]

I forgot my body armor and I'm bleeding all over the place!!

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

[Bugwart]

Concerning iMODE data speed,

504-series JAVA i-mode handsets 504-series handsets were introduced on May 24, 2002 504-series handsets have a number of additional functionalities - the main advance is the imode download data speed was increased three times to 28.8 kbps.

This quote is from iMODE Handsets from Eurotechnology Web Site


Wasn't there someone on this thread who believed that iMODE had a download speed of 384 kbps? That would be very difficult to accomplish with 28.8 kbps handsets. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Bugwart]

Originally posted by: northform So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

According to the message I received from my friend Shimidzu san, FOMA is actually running at 64 kbps (although they advertise 384 kbps). Simidzu uses an NTTDoCoMo 504 iMODE phone.
64 kbps is a rather slow cable modem. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Petnukie]

Bugwart:

Here's my opinion on high speed data: It's only relevant if the phone can process data at higher speeds. My 4900 phone is so slooooow that it takes me forever to surf the web or check e-mails. I've finally stopped using my phone to check the Net.

However, high speed data on cell phones is very handy when it is hooked up to my laptop. I verifed speeds of 101 kB/ps on CNET with Sprint. Data comes in "bursts" rather than streaming data like my work DSL.

I know many people are subscribed to 3G, but how many people actually use their phones to surf the web or check e-mail? My guess is not too many. For business users like myself, I tend to use my laptop hooked to my cell phone...it's more practical.

Question: How are speeds on some of the newer PDA phones? Do you achieve laptops speeds?

[Bugwart]

I have used WAP for 4 years to surf the web, do my banking and email. However, I suspect that I am in the minority.

North America is behind Europe and way behind East Asia in phone applications. In S Korea and Japan, subscribers have been actively using their phones for banking, stock trading, and other functions for 4 years. With the introduction of 1xRTT, iMODE, and more recently EV-DO and FOMA the platforms can handle interactive games, MMS, streaming video, MP3 downloads, and a host of other applications.

Europe has had GPRS running for about 2 years. As in East Asia, people are beginning to use the increasing number of available applications. Many more European HTML web sites have mobile sites than in North America.

Since North America has only had higher speed networks (2.5G) for roughly one year, it is not surprising we are still in the process of developing applications. It will happen in North America also, but it will take another year or so to really catch on.

[Petnukie]

Bugwart:

Which cell phone are you currently using to surf the web? Is the processing speed on your cell phone adequate?

Like I wrote earlier, my Sanyo 4900 is so slooow on Vision...sometimes 15 minutes of usage drains 1/2 my battery.

[Bugwart]

Originally posted by: Petnukie Bugwart: Which cell phone are you currently using to surf the web? Is the processing speed on your cell phone adequate? Like I wrote earlier, my Sanyo 4900 is so slooow on Vision...sometimes 15 minutes of usage drains 1/2 my battery.

I am using a Samsung SCH A310 now. Before that, I used a Qualcomm QCP860.

The processing speed on the phone is adequate, but the web connection is sometimes slow. Probably the web server is overloaded. The same thing happens with my internet connection via cable modem at times.

15 mins of usage draining half of the battery is certainly a problem. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]
Does the phone get warm after 15 mins?
Have you spoken to Sprint about this?

[Petnukie]

I think battery drain has something to do with constant backlit use when I'm on the web. I think this is standard on the 4900 color phone. BTW...the phone does not get warm.

[jmccrane]

Originally posted by: Petnukie I think battery drain has something to do with constant backlit use when I'm on the web. I think this is standard on the 4900 color phone. BTW...the phone does not get warm.

It does drop fast, faster than my Nokia 7160 battery did back on good-old 2G WAP. That being said, it is probably normal and I suspect you could only get 1 to 1 1/2 hours of normal Vision surfing off a fully charged battery, compared to 3-4 hours (at least) of talk.

[Codepyro]

Originally posted by: northform So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds.

while you MAY be right even though i have not read any articles about foma sending more than 100 kbs......GLOBALLY
CDMA EV-D0 reaches 20 million(actually most of this is just from korea...this is not counting any other country)...
WCDMA has not even broken the half million mark yet...

[Bugwart]

Originally posted by: Codepyro Originally posted by: northform So 96% of Japan's 3G customers are regeiving data at 56k while 3% are regeiving it at cable modem speeds. while you MAY be right even though i have not read any articles about foma sending more than 100 kbs......GLOBALLY CDMA EV-D0 reaches 20 million(actually most of this is just from korea...this is not counting any other country)... WCDMA has not even broken the half million mark yet...

Based on a post on another forum w2forum, the situation is even worse:

Even when UMTS networks start working, data rates will be far below the promised 2Mbps. Nokia now puts the practical limit for UMTS at 384Kbps. Nokia's new 6650 3G camera-phone has been "limited" to 128Kbps for downlink reception and 64Kbps for uplink transmission. Sonera, meanwhile, has limited its network to 64Kbps in both directions. Which company, I wonder, will be first to sue its government for selling a 3G licence under false pretences?

Northform, before you bite off my head, I am only quoting another source. These are some of the salient points of the piece.

The piece begins:

The unhappy conclusion is that Europe, after the runaway success of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may have got it very wrong with 3G and may now be five years behind the U.S.

and adds:

So European GSM operators must build completely new networks. All base stations use the same frequencies, and the mobile may have radio links to four cells at the same time. So handover involves switching between groups of cells, not just single cells.

and then,

"Europe has made a bed and must now lie in it," said Bob Shukai, director of Motorola's 3G division, which supplies both UMTS and CDMA handsets and network equipment. "Operators will figure out how to make it all (UMTS) work. But it will take at least five years."

I am not gloating. I hope that UMTS comes fully on line much more quickly than this. If UMTS fails to live up to the hype, it will cause even more havoc in the semiconductor industry.

I read in the same forum that GPRS only has 6.4 million subscribers worldwide.

Hearing this, it is little wonder that TSMC is only running at 67% capacity utilization and therefore, they seem to have delayed two major manufacturing facilities.

[Codepyro]

what i think will happen is that....instead of upgrading to 3G most providers will upgrade to cdma 1x or edge FIRST....even though ATT plans to skip the edge step i highly doubt that in europe skipping edge and going straight to 3g is going to be the case...instead using edge and wifi companies can gain the most profits with the least amount of expense..infact t-mobile is planning on relaesing edge and has already implemented a wifi network...