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{{short description|Japanese company}}
[[File:Y movile.png|200px|right|Ymobile]]
{{Redirect|Yahoo! Mobile|Yahoo! mobile services|Yahoo! Go|and|Yahoo!}}
'''Ymobile''' is a brand used by the [[Japan]]ese telecommunications company [[SoftBank]] Corporation that provides mobile telecommunications and [[ADSL]] services. The current CEO of the company is [[Ken Miyauchi]]. The company eAccess was established on November 1, 1999, and on January 1, 2013 became a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation (now SoftBank Group Corporation). In 2014 [[Willcom]] merged into eAccess, which was subsequently renamed Ymobile Corporation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2014/06/02/eaccess-and-willcom-merge-under-the-ymobile-banner/ |title=eAccess and Willcom merge under the Ymobile banner |publisher=TeleGeography |date=2014-06-02 |accessdate=2014-09-18}}</ref> On 1 April 2015, Ymobile Corporation merged into Softbank Mobile Corporation, with the Y!Mobile brand continuing to be used by the newly merged company. [http://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/news/press/2015/20150401_01/] On 1 July 2015, SoftBank Mobile Corporation was renamed SoftBank Corporation.
{{Infobox company
| name = SoftBank Corp. T/A Y!mobile
| logo = Y!mobile.svg
| logo_size = 250px
| foundation = {{start date and age|2014|6|1|df=yes}}
| defunct = {{start date and age|2015|4|1|df=yes}} (as independent company)
| location = Shiodome-building 1-9-1 Higashi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, [[Tokyo]], Japan
| owner = [[SoftBank]] (100%)<ref name="SoftBank_2011" />
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.ymobile.jp}}
}}
'''Y!mobile''' is a Japanese [[mobile phone operator]]. Y!mobile is a brand used by [[SoftBank Corp.]], a subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company [[SoftBank]] Group Corporation, that provides mobile telecommunications and [[ADSL]] services. The current CEO of the company is [[Ken Miyauchi]]. It was formed in 2014 through the merger of Willcom and eAccess, and uses the Y! [[moniker]] brand from [[Yahoo! Japan]], which is partly-owned by SoftBank.

On 1 April 2015, Ymobile Corporation merged into Softbank Mobile Corporation (now [[SoftBank Corporation]]), with the Y!mobile brand continuing to be used by the newly merged company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/news/press/2015/20150401_01/|title=Establishment of Newly Merged Company and Management Team &#124; Press Releases &#124; News &#124; About Us}}</ref>

==History==
===Willcom===
[[File:Willcom logo.svg|thumb|right|300px|Willcom logo]]

{{Nihongo|'''WILLCOM Inc.'''|[[株式会社]]ウィルコム|Kabushiki-gaisha Wirukomu}} was a [[Personal Handy-phone System|PHS]] operator based in Tokyo, offering flat-rate [[wireless network]] data transmission and flat-rate voice calls for its subscribers. The company was founded as a planning-company in 1994, and started to offer telephony services in 1995 under the brand '''DDI-Pocket'''. Its PHS network covered almost all of Japan, and had the largest share of the Japanese PHS market. It continued operating after other PHS operators had withdrawn their services. The company later became a subsidiary of [[KDDI Corporation|KDDI]]. Willcom Okinawa Co., Ltd. was a subsidiary for operations in [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].

In 2004, the [[Carlyle Group]] acquired a majority stake from KDDI and spun off DDI Pocket in February 2005, with the new company called Willcom. The number of its subscribers passed four million on May 29, 2006.

[[File:WILLCOM PHS Mobile phone tower.jpg|thumb|100px|A Willcom PHS phone tower in [[Tokorozawa, Saitama]], in 2006]]
As an operator, it had mainly base stations of 500m[[Electric power|W]]-radio output, unlike other PHS operators, which had mainly built 20&nbsp;mW base stations. The high output level caused some radio interference and it was difficult to place calls in dense areas such as [[Shinjuku]], Tokyo during the network's early days, although these problems were eventually solved. On the other hand, high output (and sensitivity) can also earn wider coverage of area per base station, therefore the operator was able to expand its coverage faster than the competition.
The market between PHS operators and [[cellular telephone|cellular telephony companies]] was incredibly fierce, and until October 1996 it was not possible to make calls between PHS and cellular telephones. Even then, charges for calls between the two different systems were high.

PHS became popular because of its lower cost, causing cellular telephone companies to reduce their rates, which were initially considered too expensive. Furthermore, the coverage of the cellular companies quickly expanded to comparable levels. With the competitive advantage of PHS reduced, DDI-Pocket went through difficult years at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. The declining market for PHS service has caused the launch of its flat-rate service and its buyout by Carlyle.

[[File:EAccess logo.svg|thumb|200px|Logo of eAccess]]
On February 18, 2010, Willcom filed for bankruptcy with 206 billion yen in liabilities.<ref name=Eki-Alpeyev>{{cite news|newspaper=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|date=February 18, 2010<!--, 4:31 AM EST-->|author=Yoshinori Eki and Pavel Alpeyev|title=Willcom Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Japan (Update3)|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-18/willcom-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-japan-update1-.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220000636/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-18/willcom-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-japan-update1-.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 20, 2010}}</ref> This took place after Willcom was unable to reschedule its debt payments; the company had been losing subscribers to competing networks with greater data speeds.<ref name=Eki-Alpeyev/> In December 2010 [[SoftBank]] purchased 100% of shares issued by Willcom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.softbank.co.jp/en/news/press/2010/20101221_01/ |title=Completion of Company Split and Increase and Decrease of Capital, etc. of WILLCOM, Inc. |publisher=SoftBank |date=2010-12-21 |access-date=2012-06-13 }}</ref> Willcom was in the process of rehabilitation under the Corporate Rehabilitation Act.<ref name="SoftBank_2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.softbank.co.jp/en/design_set/data/irinfo/library/annual_reports/pdf/2011/softbank_annual_report_2011_001.pdf |title=SoftBank Annual Report 2011 |publisher=SoftBank |access-date=2012-06-13 }}</ref>

On June 1, 2014, Willcom was merged with eAccess and formed Ymobile.

===eAccess and EMOBILE===
[[File:Toranomon-Twin-Building02.jpg|thumb|200px|The Toranomon Twin Building in [[Minato, Tokyo|Minato-ku]], Tokyo, headquarters of eAccess]]
The company '''eAccess''' was established on November 1, 1999, by Dr [[Sachio Semmoto]] as an [[ADSL]] fixed line broadband provider. Semmoto founded '''EMOBILE''' Ltd. (イー・モバイル株式会社) on January 5, 2005, as a subsidiary of eAccess,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurotechnology.com/store/emobile/|title=Y!mobile created by merger of eMobile and Willcom|date=19 May 2013}}</ref> offering 3G/[[Evolved HSPA|HSPA+]]/[[DC-HSDPA]]/[[3GPP Long Term Evolution|LTE]] services. As they used to offer only data services they were not widely known, but after teaming up with [[NTT DoCoMo]] to offer voice services, they became more popular. EMOBILE had a reseller/virtual network arrangement with several fixed-line ISPs including [[ASAHI Net]]. As of March 31, 2009 their website claimed 90% coverage of Japan's population.

As of April 17, 2009 EMOBILE introduced HSUPA to metropolitan areas claiming support for 5.8&nbsp;Mbit/s. As of early 2011, 21&nbsp;Mbit/s HSPA+ and 42&nbsp;Mbit/s [[DC-HSPA+]] is available in major metropolitan areas, depending upon the subscriber modem used. On March 15, 2012, they began offering LTE service with initial advertised speeds of 75&nbsp;Mbit/s. It is claimed that this speed will eventually increase to 112&nbsp;Mbit/s.

Total EMOBILE subscribers as of April 30, 2009 was 1.53 million.<!--E Mobile was ranked third for June's number of registration with 47,700 people, beating [[au (mobile phone operator)|au by KDDI]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/business/update/0707/TKY200807070272.html|title=携帯契約増加数、auが4位に転落 6月|access-date=2008-07-07|publisher=Asahi Shimbun|language=ja |archive-url = http://web.archive.org/web/20080710022351/http://www.asahi.com/business/update/0707/TKY200807070272.html--> <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> <!--|archive-date = 2008-07-10}}</ref>-->

On January 1, 2013, eAccess became a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation (now SoftBank Group Corporation).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2014/06/02/eaccess-and-willcom-merge-under-the-ymobile-banner/ |title=eAccess and Willcom merge under the Ymobile banner |publisher=TeleGeography |date=2014-06-02 |access-date=2014-09-18}}</ref> eAccess merged with Willcom to form Ymobile in July 2014.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
WILLCOM PLAZA UMEDA OS.JPG|Willcom and EMOBILE signs at a plaza in 2014
EMOBILE store 2012-02-11.JPG|An EMOBILE store in Tokyo in 2012
Y!mobile Frespo Nagata.JPG|A Willcom/EMOBILE store in 2014
Y!mobile DIAMOR Osaka.JPG|emobile store in 2014 (as Y! Mobile)
EM Chip LTE.JPG|An EMOBILE UIM card
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[SoftBank Mobile]]
* [[Personal Handy-phone System|PHS]]
* [[W-SIM]]
* [[G-BOOK]]
* [[Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan]]


==References==
==References==
Line 6: Line 64:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.ymobile.jp/index.html}}
* {{Official website|https://www.ymobile.jp}}
*Corporate website [http://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/about/]
* [https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/about/ Corporate website]


{{Z Holdings}}
{{SoftBank}}
{{SoftBank}}
{{Japanese mobile phone companies}}


[[Category:SoftBank]]
[[Category:SoftBank Group]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Mobile phone companies of Japan]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1994]]

Latest revision as of 12:06, 14 September 2024

"Yahoo! Mobile" redirects here. For Yahoo! mobile services, see Yahoo! Go and Yahoo!
SoftBank Corp. T/A Y!mobile
Founded1 June 2014; 10 years ago (2014-06-01)
Defunct1 April 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-01) (as independent company)
HeadquartersShiodome-building 1-9-1 Higashi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
OwnerSoftBank (100%)[1]
Websitewww.ymobile.jp

Y!mobile is a Japanese mobile phone operator. Y!mobile is a brand used by SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group Corporation, that provides mobile telecommunications and ADSL services. The current CEO of the company is Ken Miyauchi. It was formed in 2014 through the merger of Willcom and eAccess, and uses the Y! moniker brand from Yahoo! Japan, which is partly-owned by SoftBank.

On 1 April 2015, Ymobile Corporation merged into Softbank Mobile Corporation (now SoftBank Corporation), with the Y!mobile brand continuing to be used by the newly merged company.[2]

History

[edit]

Willcom

[edit]
Willcom logo

WILLCOM Inc. (株式会社ウィルコム, Kabushiki-gaisha Wirukomu) was a PHS operator based in Tokyo, offering flat-rate wireless network data transmission and flat-rate voice calls for its subscribers. The company was founded as a planning-company in 1994, and started to offer telephony services in 1995 under the brand DDI-Pocket. Its PHS network covered almost all of Japan, and had the largest share of the Japanese PHS market. It continued operating after other PHS operators had withdrawn their services. The company later became a subsidiary of KDDI. Willcom Okinawa Co., Ltd. was a subsidiary for operations in Okinawa.

In 2004, the Carlyle Group acquired a majority stake from KDDI and spun off DDI Pocket in February 2005, with the new company called Willcom. The number of its subscribers passed four million on May 29, 2006.

A Willcom PHS phone tower in Tokorozawa, Saitama, in 2006

As an operator, it had mainly base stations of 500mW-radio output, unlike other PHS operators, which had mainly built 20 mW base stations. The high output level caused some radio interference and it was difficult to place calls in dense areas such as Shinjuku, Tokyo during the network's early days, although these problems were eventually solved. On the other hand, high output (and sensitivity) can also earn wider coverage of area per base station, therefore the operator was able to expand its coverage faster than the competition. The market between PHS operators and cellular telephony companies was incredibly fierce, and until October 1996 it was not possible to make calls between PHS and cellular telephones. Even then, charges for calls between the two different systems were high.

PHS became popular because of its lower cost, causing cellular telephone companies to reduce their rates, which were initially considered too expensive. Furthermore, the coverage of the cellular companies quickly expanded to comparable levels. With the competitive advantage of PHS reduced, DDI-Pocket went through difficult years at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. The declining market for PHS service has caused the launch of its flat-rate service and its buyout by Carlyle.

Logo of eAccess

On February 18, 2010, Willcom filed for bankruptcy with 206 billion yen in liabilities.[3] This took place after Willcom was unable to reschedule its debt payments; the company had been losing subscribers to competing networks with greater data speeds.[3] In December 2010 SoftBank purchased 100% of shares issued by Willcom.[4] Willcom was in the process of rehabilitation under the Corporate Rehabilitation Act.[1]

On June 1, 2014, Willcom was merged with eAccess and formed Ymobile.

eAccess and EMOBILE

[edit]
The Toranomon Twin Building in Minato-ku, Tokyo, headquarters of eAccess

The company eAccess was established on November 1, 1999, by Dr Sachio Semmoto as an ADSL fixed line broadband provider. Semmoto founded EMOBILE Ltd. (イー・モバイル株式会社) on January 5, 2005, as a subsidiary of eAccess,[5] offering 3G/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA/LTE services. As they used to offer only data services they were not widely known, but after teaming up with NTT DoCoMo to offer voice services, they became more popular. EMOBILE had a reseller/virtual network arrangement with several fixed-line ISPs including ASAHI Net. As of March 31, 2009 their website claimed 90% coverage of Japan's population.

As of April 17, 2009 EMOBILE introduced HSUPA to metropolitan areas claiming support for 5.8 Mbit/s. As of early 2011, 21 Mbit/s HSPA+ and 42 Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ is available in major metropolitan areas, depending upon the subscriber modem used. On March 15, 2012, they began offering LTE service with initial advertised speeds of 75 Mbit/s. It is claimed that this speed will eventually increase to 112 Mbit/s.

Total EMOBILE subscribers as of April 30, 2009 was 1.53 million.

On January 1, 2013, eAccess became a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation (now SoftBank Group Corporation).[6] eAccess merged with Willcom to form Ymobile in July 2014.

[edit]
  • Willcom and EMOBILE signs at a plaza in 2014
    Willcom and EMOBILE signs at a plaza in 2014
  • An EMOBILE store in Tokyo in 2012
    An EMOBILE store in Tokyo in 2012
  • A Willcom/EMOBILE store in 2014
    A Willcom/EMOBILE store in 2014
  • emobile store in 2014 (as Y! Mobile)
    emobile store in 2014 (as Y! Mobile)
  • An EMOBILE UIM card
    An EMOBILE UIM card

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "SoftBank Annual Report 2011" (PDF). SoftBank. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  2. ^ "Establishment of Newly Merged Company and Management Team | Press Releases | News | About Us".
  3. ^ a b Yoshinori Eki and Pavel Alpeyev (February 18, 2010). "Willcom Files for Bankruptcy Protection in Japan (Update3)". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on February 20, 2010.
  4. ^ "Completion of Company Split and Increase and Decrease of Capital, etc. of WILLCOM, Inc". SoftBank. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  5. ^ "Y!mobile created by merger of eMobile and Willcom". 19 May 2013.
  6. ^ "eAccess and Willcom merge under the Ymobile banner". TeleGeography. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
[edit]
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