DoCoMo anticipates FOMA boom

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it will raise its subscriber projection for its third-generation FOMA service by 20 percent to 2.4 million by the end of March, having seen faster-than-expected growth in the sector.

Just three months ago, the country's largest mobile phone operator upgraded its subscriber forecast from 1.46 million to 2 million.

Yet the number of subscribers to its high-speed service already surpassed the company's target on Jan. 29.

FOMA, launched in October 2001, suffered a weak start due to its limited areas of coverage, bulky handsets and short battery life.

But officials said the third-generation service is taking off thanks to the introduction of much slimmer handsets with a longer life span, as well as expanded coverage areas.

The company said the release of the new FOMA handset series 900i -- the first model of which will hit the market Friday -- should help attract more subscribers.

The company believes that the recent growth of FOMA, while still lagging well behind au's high-speed service, shows users have finally started to shift to 3G services.

Shiro Tsuda, senior executive vice president, noted subscribers to its second-generation service peaked in August.