Is i-Mode on its way to UK?

The developer of Japanese mobile service i-Mode is in talks with mobile operators to launch the service in the UK.

I-Mode, the dominant mobile phone service in Japan, is a proprietary voice and data phone service invented by NTT DoCoMo. It offers picture and voice services to operators and consumers at a lower cost than third generation (3G).

The service currently has over 40 million Japanese users and one million overseas subscribers. In addition to providing standard voice and data services, i-Mode allows subscribers to use their phone as an electronic wallet to pay for tickets and taxis.

The service is already up and running in France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, and is shortly to launch in Italy.

NTT DoCoMo president, Keiji Tachikawa, said: "There are a number of operators in the UK who are looking at i-Mode.

"We are holding discussions with them and once those are concluded i-Mode should be implemented in the UK. Whenever a new technology is launched you can't expect an immediate take-off."

Tachikawa denied claims that mobile operator Hutchison, in which NTT DoCoMo has a stake, was delaying the launch of an i-Mode service until it gets its 3G service off the ground.

But Chris Bignell, UK marketing director of Toshiba, which sells i-Mode handsets across Europe, said: "I don't think i-Mode will come to the UK.

"The other operators have their own data services, like Vodafone Live, and they'll probably want to develop those further before launching a new market."