DoCoMo had been planning to introduce a European version of its hugely successful i-mode service through its European partner, KPN Mobile, by the end of the financial year in March. DoCoMo has invested about Y400bn ($3.2bn) for a 16% stake in the mobile subsidiary of the highly indebted KPN.
However, it has become increasingly likely that handsets for the new packet switching network, on which the European i-mode service would run would not be supplied on time even though the network would be in place.
DoCoMo said to the press it hoped the European i-mode service could be introduced by the end of June but the timing would depend largely on how soon handset manufacturers would be able to deliver.
