Japan to Pass 107 Million Subscribers by 2010

According to the latest research by ROA Group, the number of mobile users in Japan will increase to 107.3 million by the end of 2010 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.93% during 2003-2010. In a new report, ROA Group has analyzed the trends and carrier strategies in the Japanese mobile market in 2006.

"The introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was the most important issue in the Japanese mobile market in the second half of 2006, however it had a limited influence on the overall mobile market because mobile operators maintained a relatively low subscriber churn rate by offering attractive handsets, services and tariff plans," says Yukiko Noda, a senior analyst at ROA Group.

Another notable change in the Japanese mobile market was the emergence of SoftBank Mobile, created by the merger between SoftBank and Vodafone Japan. Also e-Mobile, as a new entrant launched its services in March 2007 (FY 2006 ends in March in Japan). In addition, 3.5G (HSDPA) networks are spreading and data services are expected to increase with an accelerating speed, providing another driving engine for market growth in Japan.

Fgures from The Mobile World note that Japan ended the first quarter of this year with 96.7 million subscribers."

Posted to the site on 30th May 2007