[London, ENGLAND] Dutch mobile operator KPN Mobile announced Thursday
a pan-European Internet portal, a joint venture with Japanese partner
NTT DoCoMo and Italian mobile operator Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM).
The deal will bring NTT DoCoMo’s popular i-mode concept to Europe
where it will be a rival to other services based on Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP).
The two European partners bring substantial user bases to the project:
KPN Mobile with 13 million controlled subscribers and TIM with
20.7 million customers in Italy and 41 million worldwide.
Like those from Orange Internet, also announced this week,
services will consist of e-mail, information, gaming, and
location-based information on traffic, restaurants, parking,
etc.
Initially, the new mobile Internet portal will reach users in
Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Belgium — four countries
where the estimated total market reach will be around 165
million people. The partners will later move into other
European countries as the opportunities arise.
Two years after launching i-mode in Japan, NTT DoCoMo has
17 million customers using it. However, in Europe the
service may be somewhat delayed by the need for combined
i-mode/WAP handsets which the handset manufacturers will
not deliver in quantity until the end of the year.
KPN Mobile and NTT DoCoMo announced that they will
establish a separate company dedicated to mobile data.
The company will be funded by KPN Mobile to the tune
of EUR 90 million (US $85 million), while NTT DoCoMo
will take a 25 percent stake and contribute EUR 50
million (US $47 million).
The new venture will get a flying start by receiving
KPN Mobile’s mobile portals and platforms E-Plus Online
and M-Info which currently operate in Germany, The
Netherlands and Belgium.
The latest deal in Europe’s battle for positioning in
the mobile Internet market reflects the results of
recent auctions for UMTS licenses. TIM holds three UMTS
licenses in Italy, Spain and Austria, while KPN Mobile
holds UMTS licenses in Germany and The Netherlands, and
is a shareholder in Hutchinson 3G together with NTT DoCoMo
in the U.K.
KPN Mobile’s acquisition of a 77.5 percent interest in
German operator E-Plus in February 2000 was the key
to its transformation into a pan-European operator,
and has made the latest deal possible.
