DoCoMo led all mobile carriers in July new subscribers

August 9, 2009
By Ken Worsley

As an update to last week’s article on quarterly losses at NTT, it was announced Friday that out of Japan’s mobile service providers, NTT DoCoMo gained the most new subscribers in July.

Prior to July, Softbank had gained the most new subscribers for 26 consecutive months. It had been 35 months since DoCoMo led a single month in subscription gains. DoCoMo added 143,600 users in July to reach 55 million subscribers, while Softbank added 137,600 users to reach 21.1 million in total. AU added 56,600 new users and now has 31 million subscribers.

Apple’s iPhone, carried by Softbank, was the second most popular handset sold in July, while Sharp’s Aquos Shot, a DoCoMo offering, saw the highest sales.

Does this signal the end of Softbank’s reign at the top? DoCoMo has slashed data transfer fees, and it may prove more difficult for Softbank to follow suit. Back in April, DoCoMo announced that the cut in data fees would reduce its operating profit by about 40 billion yen. Still, it remains to be seen how long DoCoMo can stay in the top spot, or how much it might cost the company to gain market share percentage points.

Filed Under Business, Telecom