New carrier: mobile broadband access with inexpensive flat rates.

EMOBILE, a new carrier, unfolded its service plans and terminal line up for the domestic market. The company will offer flat rate mobile broadband services and voice. EMOBILE is member of the eAccess Group-an ADSL wholesale provider. Goldman Sachs and TBS, a Tokyo-based broadcasting company, are financially backing EMOBILE's market expansion.

Initially, only mobile data services are offered. EMOBILE's flat rate mobile broadband data services start on March 31 using the 3.5G HSPDA technology. Maximum data speeds are 3.6Mbps downlink and 384kbps uplink. Network coverage is initially limited to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto. Voice services will be launched in March 2008 through a 3G roaming agreement with NTT DoCoMo. EMOBILE expects to have constructed its own nationwide network by October 2010.

Pricing is attractive. The flat rate-all you can eat-data services cost JPY5,980 per month. Nothing has been mentioned about the pricing of its planned voice services. Piggybacking the DoCoMo voice network will make it difficult, however, to offer very cheap voice rates challenging the incumbent carriers.

EMOBILE will offer NEC's mobile data cards (PCMCIA) for laptop usage. The card costs JPY4,980 with a 1-year flat rate data plan. In co-operation with Sharp, a small mobile terminal (EM-ONE) has been developed running on Windows Mobile 5.0. The 4.1-inch screen has 800x400 pixels that allows viewing web sites without horizontal scrolling. Bluetooth and WiFi (IEEE802.11b/g) are also supported. It is not clear if the EM-ONE supports voice services once these are launched by EMOBILE. Microphone and speakers are built-in, though but to make it suitable for voice communications, a firmware upgrade mightbe necessary. The 250-gram device comes with a QWERTY-keyboard and is able to receive the one-segment mobile digital broadcasting. Unfortunately, users have to bring the power cord wherever they go, as the battery life is limited to four hours. The EM-ONE costs JPY39,800 with a 2-year flat rate data plan.

The new service could be a hit for mobile laptop access. PHS network service provider Willcomm offers flat rate 128kbps data services for JPY10,000 per month. EMOBILE is undercutting these prices in combination with higher bandwidth. EMOBILE's current offering is way behind Willcomm-the terminal is more expensive than Willcomm's ZERO3 device, voice is not supported and coverage is limited. Better devices, a rapidly expanding network, and deep pockets will make from EMOBILE not only a challenger but also a real competitor after 2010.