NTT DoCoMo plans to remove SIM card locks, allowing customers to switch operators without changing handsets, from next April, president Ryuji Yamada has told theNikkei.
But DoCoMo is banking on its rivals unlocking SIMs too, including the main prize – the iPhone, which is exclusively distributed by Softbank Mobile in Japan.
According to DoCoMo, if SIMs are unlocked, then its better 3G network coverage will entice users from its rivals – KDDI, Softbank Mobile and eMobile – to its ranks.
The April announcement sent DoCoMo’s share price soaring.
The move will win DoCoMo brownie points with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications which announced official guidelines for SIM unlocking on June 30, but left the removal of SIM card locks to the carriers' discretion. In other words, SIM card unlocking it is by no means compulsory.
The ministry is urging operators to unlock SIMs to spur competition and ultimately lower tariffs.
But will Softbank Mobile unlock the iPhone which continues to keep it on top of the leaderboard?
Of course not.
Softbank Mobile reportedly plans to open the SIM locks on some devices, but Softbank president Masayoshi Son says the operator won’t “give away our only advantage” over DoCoMo, and unlock iPhone SIMs.
It seems that DoCoMo will have to continue to hedge its bets on latest Android devices rather than the iPhone.
According to Credit Suisse, the decision could put the iPhone even further out of DoCoMo’s reach.
“We regard it as highly significant that DoCoMo has chosen to unveil such an important strategy [SIM card unlocking] in an interview with the Nikkei, in the sense that this move could cause Apple – which is said to highly prize confidentiality – to trust DoCoMo even less,” notes the investment bank.
“It seems likely that DoCoMo is targeting iPhone users with this decision to remove SIM card locks.”
It believes the decision “seem to lessen any likelihood of DoCoMo being chosen as a sales partner for the iPhone and iPad.”
In short, the market appears to have misread the situation. It should have been Softbank shares that spiked following the April unlocking news, and not DoCoMo’s.
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