i-mode Phones with FeliCa IC Chip to be Used in Trial Services

Products & Services

TOKYO, JAPAN, December 15, 2003 --- NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it will launch a trial, called the "i-mode® FeliCa preview service," using mobile phones equipped with FeliCa contactless IC chip technology developed by Sony Corporation.

The phones will be used for public transport tolls, electronic money, personal identification and other trial services between December 17, 2003 and the summer of 2004.

DoCoMo will supply 27 participating service providers with FeliCa-equipped mova® N504iC and SO504iC mobile phones (2,500 each) and each company will distribute the phones to its customers. Together with each company, DoCoMo encourage the customers to use the company's trial services. The companies will represent business fields such as banking, convenience stores, television broadcasting, game software and retail ticketing. Users, services and service launch dates will vary depending on each company.

During the trial, DoCoMo will monitor and analyze service usage trends, interfaces between FeliCa services and Java-based i-appli® applications required to use the services, and related operations management. As part of considering possible new applications and services, the FeliCa platform and My Box™, an i-mode feature for receiving customized services, will be integrated with services offered at brick and mortar shops. DoCoMo will promote the concept of advanced mobile services among both users and providers, and thereby realize the launch of an innovative commercial services in the future.


About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company with more than 47 million customers. The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services. These include i-mode®, the world's most popular mobile internet service, which provides e-mail and internet access to over 40 million subscribers, and FOMA®, launched in 2001 as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North and South America, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the stock exchanges in Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM). For more information, visit www.docomo.ne.jp/english

i-mode, i-appli, mova and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries.
FOMA is only available for subscribers in Japan.
FeliCa is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
My Box is a trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan.
My Box service is only available to subscribers in Japan.

Go to top of the page