Improving French I-mode Services

Japan's Access Co. has signed a cooperation agreement with France's Bouygues Telecom to deliver mobile technologies for Bouygues Telecom's i-mode service. Within this cooperation, Access and Bouygues Telecom are committed to the joint research and development of advanced mobile technologies and will work together to evaluate technology standards, market trends, and strategy as they apply to the i-mode service and the French mobile technology environment, including future joint trial projects. Together, both companies will also focus on the optimisation of Bouygues Telecom's i-mode services on its EDGE network and the migration of these services to the 3G mobile network.

Access developed Compact HTML, the language on which i-mode is based, and Access supplied its Compact NetFront browser and email client as primary technologies for i-mode's initial launch in Japan. To date Access NetFront technology is deployed in over 80% of i-mode handsets in Japan and nearly 100% of i-mode Global handsets throughout the world. Access' NetFront technology also holds near 100% market share for NTT DoCoMo's advanced 3G FOMATM service available in Japan.

Bouygues Telecom launched i-mode mobile internet services in November 2002 with a lot of success. Over 1 million customers in France have signed up to this new technology, placing it as the fastest growing development, along a high usage of this service."

Posted to the site on 23rd February 2005