| PRESS
RELEASE
East Japan Railway, NTT DoCoMo and Sony to Launch "Mobile
Suica" Service
Tokyo, Japan, February 22, 2005
--- East Japan Railway Company (JR East), NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (DoCoMo)
and Sony Corporation (Sony) today announced that they will offer
a new service combining DoCoMo's i-mode® FeliCa® smart-card
handset and Suica, JR East's IC card train ticket, from January
2006. The Mobile Suica® service will enable i-mode FeliCa
handsets to be used as Suica cards.
A test of the service will begin March 2005 using pilot i-mode
FeliCa handsets.
Until now, more than 10 million Suica cards have been issued.
The cards can be used not only to ride trains, but also to make
purchases at selected restaurants, convenience stores and other
shops inside and outside JR stations.
DoCoMo's i-mode FeliCa service combines two advanced platforms:
DoCoMo's i-mode mobile internet service for data communications
on the go and Sony's FeliCa smart-card platform for rapid, secure
data transmission. The handset is a powerful, multifunctional
tool combining mobile communications with diverse functions
ranging from financial transactions to opening electronic locks.
As of February 12 more than 2 million i-mode FeliCa handsets
have been sold.
FeliCa Networks, Inc., a joint venture established by the three
companies, will develop IC chips for the Mobile Suica service
and service applications.
At its launch in January 2006, Mobile Suica customers, in addition
to enjoying all current Suica features, are expected to be able
to use their handsets to do the following:
* Recharge stored fare and purchase commuter passes anytime
and anywhere.
* Check the balance of stored fare usage on the screen of the
handsets.JR East is also considering offering the following
Mobile Suica services after the launch:
* Online shopping with Suica electronic money by the second
half of fiscal 2006.
* Purchase of reserved Shinkansen tickets in fiscal 2007. Passengers
will be able to pass through the ticket gate with the i-mode
FeliCa handset.About East Japan Railway
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is the largest passenger
railway company in the world, serving about 16 million passengers
daily. The company's 7,526.8 km rail network covers the eastern
half of Honshu (Japan's main island), including the Tokyo metropolitan
area. The company has 1,697 stations in its service area, and
operates more than 12,000 trains on conventional lines and 307
trains on the Shinkansen daily. In addition to its railway business,
JR East operates other kinds of business such as retail shops,
restaurants in stations, hotels, shopping centers, and office
building management.
The company introduced its "Suica" IC card in Tokyo
metropolitan area stations in November 2001 and the number of
holders now exceeds 10 million. The area where Suica can be
used is being steadily expanded.
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company,
serving more than 49 million customers. The company offers a
wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including
i-mode®, which provides e-mail and Internet access to over
43 million subscribers as the world's most popular mobile Internet
service, and FOMA®, launched in 2001 as the world's first
3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned
subsidiaries in Europe and North America, the company is expanding
its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and
multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and
New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit
www.nttdocomo.com.
About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video,
game, communications, key device and information technology
products for the consumer and professional markets. With its
music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses,
Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading personal broadband
entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated
annual sales of approximately $72 billion for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2004. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/.Mobile
Suica is a registered trademark of East Japan Railway Company.
|
|