NTT DoCoMo has recently published a global strategy document, outlining its commitment to next-generation WAP, including the next-generation Web and wireless XHTML standard, as well as HTTP and IP.
DoCoMo’s global strategy includes many alliances including investments in the AT&T Wireless and KG Telecom, as well as strategic alliances with Hutchinson Telecom in Hong Kong and the UK, KPN Mobile in the Netherlands, Telefonica, and America Online in Japan.
DoCoMo’s strategy includes moving from a dual browser, based on its c-HTML subset and WML, to the WAP Forum’s next-generation WAP 2.0 specification. The company’s business model demands the sharing of its mobile portal platform across geographic boundaries. In Japan, DoCoMo will roll out its 3G network, based on W-CDMA, in May.
DoCoMo’s own business strategy suggests that it believes that more sophisticated and functional applications will appeal to subscribers. DoCoMo has repeatedly said that what it has to offer partners is business and portal know-how, rather than technology.
I-mode’s current service platform includes an HTML subset that provides a slimmed-down Web page for a mobile phone. Many critics of WAP, which is favored by the majority of European carriers, claim the i-mode HTML subset, called c-HTML, is easier for developers to learn and target to devices.
But WAP advocates point out that c-HTML is not as functionally rich as WAP and does not have an upgrade path to deal with more sophisticated applications for future networks.
