Reuters Insider - Apple a day may not be enough for Japan's mobile leader

Brightstar Information Technology

22/10/2013 12:53

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 http://insider.thomsonreuters.com/link.html?cn=share&cid=1145988&shareToken=MzpkZDgzODM5Zi1lNTZkLTRmNGEtOThjZC1hYTM4MzRmZDI4OTQ%3D&playerName=ReutersNews 
                                                                       
 Source:             Thomson Reuters                                   
                                                                       
 Description:        NTT DoCoMo's reign over Japan's mobile market is  
                     in peril, as former upstart Softbank clocks up    
                     faster growth with popular products and an        
                     aggressive expansion strategy. Yonggi Kang        
                     reports.                                          
 
 
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 Transcript (May be auto-generated)                                    
                                                                       
 As Japan's earnings season kicks into gear, the spotlight is on the very different fates of the country's two wireless giants - Japan's biggest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo and billionaire CEO Masayoshi Son's SoftBank. Analysts expect their latest results to confirm a clear trend, SoftBank's operating profit showing stellar gains and NTT DoCoMo looking a tad slower. In fact, this might be the business year where SoftBank's operating profit surpasses its old rivals. The big banks have taken notice. Barclays 
 recommends investors go overweight SoftBank but remains equal weight on NTT DoCoMo. It wasn't always this way. NTT DoCoMo made it big in the late '90s and 2000s with its i-mode mobile Internet service. But then the iPhone came along and changed everything. NTT DoCoMo shied away from offering subscribers Apple's mega hit smartphone until just a few weeks ago, favoring locally-made models instead. SoftBank on the other hand was the first Japanese carrier to launch the iPhone in 2008. And that's become the 
 biggest factor in snatching subscribers from the competition. So with NTT DoCoMo finally selling the new iPhone 5S and 5C, is it poised for a turnaround? Well that doesn't seem to be the case at least for now. People expected a stellar September for DoCoMo with its iPhone launch but it actually saw the biggest net loss of subscribers ever. That's because DoCoMo failed to secure enough inventory of the new iPhones according to the company. And while NTT DoCoMo struggles to keep its customers, SoftBank's CEO 
 Son is on an aggressive expansion drive, following up a massive purchase of US number three carrier Sprint, the stakes in mobile phone wholesaler Brightstar and Finnish online gaming company Supercell. Its spending spree hasn't fazed investors. SoftBank shares have more than doubled this year and it blew past NTT DoCoMo in terms of market cap in May. The SoftBank has got a lot of business to absorb, and DoCoMo's future could hinge largely on its success with the new iPhones or its M&A-hungry rival getting a 
 bit too ambitious