NTT DoCoMo Adds Most Net New Mobile Users In October

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s (9437.TO) mobile phone services booked the largest net increase in subscriptions among Japan's top three carriers in October, according to data released Monday by companies.

The cumulative number of subscribers for Japan's largest mobile phone operator DoCoMo, including users of its second-generation mobile services, topped 47.53 million. The net user increase for the month came to 169,400, the company said. At the end of September, DoCoMo's total users stood at 46.87 million.

Net user increases are calculated by subtracting cancellations from the number of new contracts.

KDDI Corp. (9433.TO), the second-largest operator in Japan, said it added 161,500 net users in October for its "au" mobile phone service, just 7,900 short of DoCoMo's monthly net increase. This brought total users of "au" service to over 18.35 million.

The figures indicate a dead-heat between the nation's top rivals in attracting new users. This comes after KDDI outpaced DoCoMo in its net subscription increase in August and September.

The figures suggest DoCoMo is regaining popularity, thanks to its 3G services. While DoCoMo added a net 587,500 users to its "FOMA" third-generation mobile services in September, the firm added 576,700 3G users in October, lifting its total 3G users to top 7.06 million.

KDDI, whose total 3G subscribers came close to 16.16 million in October, still has a big lead over DoCoMo in 3G services. But the pace of KDDI's monthly net gains in KDDI's 3G users slowed down to 296,900, from September's net addition of 346,500.

Vodafone K.K., the Japanese unit of Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD) of the U.K., had a total 15.20 million subscribers in October, up 26,500 from the previous month. Of the total, its new 3G users rose on a net basis by 13,300 to 274,400.

Separately, Vodafone said it will expand its service areas and upgrade the quality of its existing 3G network to improve customer convenience. As a result, Vodafone's 3G network national population coverage in Japan is expected to be 99.72% at the end of November, the company said. "

Posted to the site on 8th November 2004