Felica Case
a. How successful do you predict Mobile FeliCa will be for DoCoMo?
Mobile FeliCa was definitely the 3rd wave of evolution for DoCoMo as it unleashed new kinds of application using FeliCa technology like ticketing, Bill payment and other range of payments. The
FeliCa system was first adopted by East Japan Railway in November 2001 for its Suica contactless transit card, of which about 17 million are now in use. The system is also used by
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and other transport service providers in Japan, China, India, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Thailand.
In April 2006 DoCoMo, became the world’s first mobile phone operator to offer its own branded platform for mobile phones incorporating a credit card and a contactless payment capability.
DoCoMo’s decision of not procuring exclusive rights in turn helped them to get new sources of revenue, when two other major Japanese mobile phone carriers, KDDI and Vodafone KK, also adopted the FeliCa system for their contactless payments services.
DoCoMo was able to generate new source of revenue because of Mobile FeliCa initiative and definitely it proved to be a successful venture.
b. What will be the major sources of profit for DoCoMo from FeliCa?
There are 3 major sources of profit for DoCoMo from FeliCa:-
Mobile Phone Churn and subscriber acquisition rates: - Mobile FeliCa helped DoCoMo to control churn, which was a priority as number portability was introduced. FeliCa used “loyalty points” and other differentiation as a retention strategy to prevent the switch of customers to other service provider. Mobile Phone rivals using FeliCa technology: - DoCoMo managers realized that by providing FeliCa technology to the rival providers, they can get an advantage of the network effect. FeliCa applications and reader locations multiplied when rivals adopted the same technology. As a major shareholder of FeliCa networks, DoCoMo had early access to new technology and this gave them an edge over
Mobile FeliCa was definitely the 3rd wave of evolution for DoCoMo as it unleashed new kinds of application using FeliCa technology like ticketing, Bill payment and other range of payments. The
FeliCa system was first adopted by East Japan Railway in November 2001 for its Suica contactless transit card, of which about 17 million are now in use. The system is also used by
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and other transport service providers in Japan, China, India, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Thailand.
In April 2006 DoCoMo, became the world’s first mobile phone operator to offer its own branded platform for mobile phones incorporating a credit card and a contactless payment capability.
DoCoMo’s decision of not procuring exclusive rights in turn helped them to get new sources of revenue, when two other major Japanese mobile phone carriers, KDDI and Vodafone KK, also adopted the FeliCa system for their contactless payments services.
DoCoMo was able to generate new source of revenue because of Mobile FeliCa initiative and definitely it proved to be a successful venture.
b. What will be the major sources of profit for DoCoMo from FeliCa?
There are 3 major sources of profit for DoCoMo from FeliCa:-
Mobile Phone Churn and subscriber acquisition rates: - Mobile FeliCa helped DoCoMo to control churn, which was a priority as number portability was introduced. FeliCa used “loyalty points” and other differentiation as a retention strategy to prevent the switch of customers to other service provider. Mobile Phone rivals using FeliCa technology: - DoCoMo managers realized that by providing FeliCa technology to the rival providers, they can get an advantage of the network effect. FeliCa applications and reader locations multiplied when rivals adopted the same technology. As a major shareholder of FeliCa networks, DoCoMo had early access to new technology and this gave them an edge over