mobile phones
Posted by Matt Dioguardi on November 26th, 2006
There was an interesting op-ed in the WSJ by Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Softbank.
The title of the op-ed:
Mobile Monopoly
Link:
http://tinyurl.com/yyoaem
Here are a few select quotes:
“Japanese mobile phones have more advanced technology than anywhere else in the world. They also help rack up the highest bills. Phone service is almost 70% more expensive than in the U.S. I wanted to bring competitive pricing to this market. This was not easy; two companies hold over four-fifths of the mobile-phone market share.”
“Moreover, two weeks ago, we announced the introduction of MySpace Japan, as a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch. Besides developing this site for the Japanese market, we are also working on providing mobile phone access to MySpace.com.”
“It’s OK for competitors to complain about us. Competition is competition. We believe that the authorities will bring fairness and justice to their decision making.”
“Until our introduction of broadband services in Japan five years ago, Japan was known as the most expensive country for Internet access. Since our entrance, Japan now has the lowest cost and the highest speed broadband in the world. Our broadband is only one-twenty fifth the cost (per megabit) of broadband in the U.S.”
My comments:
1. I’ve never grasped why mobiles needed to be so expensive in Japan. Given the size of the country and the extensive infrastructure, I’ve often wondered if Japan has the potential to be one of the cheapest suppliers of mobile service.
2. It’s interesting to see Robert Murdoch’s name come up in this context.
3. Good luck to Mr. Son!