Today was the 50th anniversary of the treaty of Rome which was at the beginning of the European Union. In Tokyo we had a big party at the top of Roppongi Hills – 52nd floor. Here are some pictures…
50 years EU celebration in Tokyo50 years EU celebration in Tokyo50 years EU celebration in Tokyo
On March 31, 2007 eMobile will start high-speed (3.6 Mbps, HSDPA) mobile data services in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, bringing disruption into the mobile data market in Japan.
While Willcom offers a flat data rate of YEN 9000 (US$ 77) per month for unlimited data transmission at 128kbps, eMobile will offer 30 times higher speed at about 1/2 the price:
3.6Mbps for PDAs, laptops and PCs for YEN 4980 (US$ 43, EURO 32) per month flat rate without any data limit (and n.b. no “fair use limit” as many European operators impose in the fine-print). …. and yes- you can probably also do wireless VOIP or Skype if you set this up yourself.
The established mobile operators (DoCoMo, KDDI/AU and SoftBank) do not offer any flat data rate to connecting PCs and laptops at this time.
(By the way- did you ever wonder why new entrants love flat rates? it’s because telecom billing systems are so expensive and complex. Flat rates are one of many competitive weapons new entrants have over incumbents…)
eMobile went to market with a splash in Japan – the first terminal was an HSDPA / wLAN and mobileTV equipped pre-smartphone smartphone
On Sunday, March 18, 2007, about 100 transportation companies in the Tokyo region switched to the near-field electronic money and payment system PASMO. Electronic money is a new battle field which JR-East pioneered with SUICA. Seven & I is still to throw it’s weight into the battle – read about today’s status of the electronic money marketplace in our “Mobile Payment and Keitai Credit” report.
A new multi-billion dollar power? Here is the character for PASMO: with an antenna on the hat, a pocket on the chest to store PASMO away, and wheels on the shoes, and in cherry-blossom pink… Does this cherry-blossom-pink guy look like he represents a new US$ multi-billion economic power?
PASMO – near field smart card for fare payment in Tokyo region – started Sunday, March 18, 2007 and exceeded all expectations
Tokyo Tower was illuminated in green color on St Patrick’s Day – (when I took these photographs a Japanese policeman guarding the Russian Embassy nearby asked me if Tokyo Tower from now on will always be green – so I explained St. Patrick’s Day to the Japanese policeman):
Green Tokyo Tower on St. Patrick’s DayGreen Tokyo Tower on St. Patrick’s DayGreen Tokyo Tower on St. Patrick’s DayGreen Tokyo Tower on St. Patrick’s DayGreen Tokyo Tower on St. Patrick’s Day
I took these photographs standing close to the perimeter of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, which is heavily guarded by Japanese police. When I took the photographs of the green Tokyo Tower, a police officer standing guard asked me, if Tokyo Tower from now on will always be green. I told him that its only today for St. Patrick’s Day. The Japanese police officer did not know about St. Patrick’s Day, so I explained St. Patrick’s Day to him….
In his presentation, Dr. Fasol will explain the essentials of Japan’s mobile phone market, why and how it is so different to Europe’s. He will also talk about some of the reasons why it is so difficult for European companies to succeed and uncover opportunities and the keys to success for European companies in this important market.
Gerhard Fasol “Help – my mobile phone does not work!” – Why Japan’s mobile phone sector is so different from Europe’s, at the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in JapanGerhard Fasol “Help – my mobile phone does not work!” – Why Japan’s mobile phone sector is so different from Europe’s, at the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in JapanGerhard Fasol “Help – my mobile phone does not work!” – Why Japan’s mobile phone sector is so different from Europe’s, at the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan
Example: mobile payment for the world’s busiest train line
CLSA – Asia-Pacific Markets – last week organized the “CLSA Japan Forum” here in Tokyo. About 800-1000 investment bankers, portfolio managers, investors, analysts came together. Since last year interest of global investors in Japan has increased a lot.
Eurotechnology Japan KK participated actively, and on Friday March 2, 2007, gave a presentation on: