20-F 1 d20f.htm FORM 20-F Form 20-F
Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 27, 2006


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


 

FORM 20-F

 


 

¨ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(B) OR 12(G) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

OR

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

      For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006

 

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

OR

 

¨ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

      Date of event requiring this shell company report             

 

Commission file number: 1-31221

 


Kabushiki Kaisha NTT DoCoMo

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 


NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

 


 

Japan  

Sanno Park Tower

11-1, Nagata-cho 2-chome

Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6150

Japan

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)   (Address of principal executive offices)

 


 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class


 

Name of each exchange on which registered


Common Stock   New York Stock Exchange

 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

 

(Title of Class)

 

 

(Title of Class)

 


 

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

 

As of March 31, 2006, 44,474,227 shares of common stock were outstanding, comprised of 44,195,566 shares and 27,866,100ADSs (equivalent to 278,661 shares).

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

 

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large Accelerated Filer  ¨    Accelerated Filer  ¨    Non-Accelerated Filer  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

 

Item 17  ¨    Item 18  ¨

 

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

 


 

* Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of the American Depositary Shares.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

         Page

   

PART I

    

Item 1.

  Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisors.      2

Item 2.

  Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable.      2

Item 3.

  Key Information.      2

Item 4.

  Information on the Company.      12

Item 4A.

  Unresolved Staff Comments      60

Item 5.

  Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.      61

Item 6.

  Directors, Senior Management and Employees.      88

Item 7.

  Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions.      93

Item 8.

  Financial Information.      94

Item 9.

  The Offer and Listing.      96

Item 10.

  Additional Information.      98

Item 11.

  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.      110

Item 12.

  Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities.      112
   

PART II

    

Item 13.

  Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies.      113

Item 14.

  Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds.      113

Item 15.

  Controls and Procedures.      113

Item 16A.

  Audit Committee Financial Expert.      113

Item 16B.

  Code of Ethics.      113

Item 16C.

  Principal Accountant Fees and Services.      114

Item 16D.

  Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees.      114

Item 16E.

  Purchases of Equity Securities by Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers.      116

Item 17.

  Financial Statements.      116

Item 18.

  Financial Statements.      116

Item 19.

  Exhibits.      117


Table of Contents

Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

 

This annual report contains forward-looking statements about our industry, our business, our plans and objectives, our financial condition and our results of operations that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “plan” or similar words. These statements discuss future expectations, identify strategies, discuss market trends, contain projections of results of operations or of our financial condition, or state other forward-looking information. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in or suggested by any forward-looking statement. We cannot promise that our expectations, projections, anticipated estimates or other information expressed in these forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation:

 

    With the introduction of Mobile Number Portability in Japan and the emergence of new service providers, competition is expected to intensify as the market environment changes. The increasing competition from other service providers and other technologies may limit our acquisition of new subscribers and retention of existing subscribers, may suppress average revenue per unit (ARPU) and may increase our costs and expenses.

 

    If the new services and forms of usage which we propose and introduce are not successful, our growth may be constrained.

 

    The introduction or change of various laws or regulations or the application of such laws or regulations to us could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

    Limitations on the amount of frequency spectrum and facilities available to us may make it difficult for us to maintain and improve the quality of our services and the level of our customer satisfaction.

 

    We cannot guarantee overseas operators will introduce the W-CDMA technology and mobile multimedia services we currently use in our 3G system, which would adversely affect our ability to offer our international services to our subscribers.

 

    We cannot guarantee that our domestic and international investments, alliances and collaborations and investments in new businesses will produce sufficient opportunities or returns.

 

    As electronic payment capabilities and many other new features are built into our cellular handsets, and the services of third parties are provided through our cellular handsets, problems may arise in the event that handsets malfunction, contain defects, are lost or fail to complete services provided by other operators.

 

    Social issues that may arise from misuse or misunderstanding of our products and services may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image.

 

    Inappropriate handling of subscriber information by our employees or subcontractors would damage our credibility and corporate image.

 

    If we are unable to obtain licenses, etc. or other rights to use the intellectual property rights of third parties that are crucial to our business, we may not be able to offer certain technology, products, or services. In addition, our group may be liable for damages due to infringement of the intellectual property rights of other companies.

 

    Earthquakes, power shortages, malfunction of facilities, software bugs and viruses, hacking, unauthorized access or cyber attacks may cause system failures in our cellular network, handsets or other networks required for the provision of service, disrupting our ability to offer our services to our subscribers and damaging our group’s credibility and corporate image.

 

    Concerns about adverse effect on health by wireless telecommunications may increase.

 

    Our parent, NTT, could exercise influence that may not be in the interests of our other shareholders.

 

Our actual results could be materially different from and worse than as described in the forward-looking statements. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from as described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in Item 3.D. and elsewhere in this annual report.

 

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PART I

 

As used in this annual report, references to “DoCoMo”, “the company”, “we”, “our”, “our group” and “us” are to NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its subsidiaries except as the context otherwise requires.

 

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisors.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 3. Key Information.

 

A. Selected Financial Data.

 

The following tables include selected historical financial data as at and for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2002 through 2006. The data as at and for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2002 through 2006 in the table is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). You should read the selected financial data below in conjunction with Item 5 of this annual report and our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto which are included elsewhere in this annual report.

 

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Selected Financial Data

 

     As of and for the year ended March 31,

 
     2002

    2003

    2004

    2005

    2006

    2006

 
     (in millions, except per share data)  

Income Statement Data

                                                

Operating revenues:

                                                

Wireless services

   ¥ 4,153,459     ¥ 4,350,861     ¥ 4,487,912     ¥ 4,296,537     ¥ 4,295,856     $ 36,566  

Equipment sales (1)

     505,795       458,227       560,153       548,073       470,016       4,001  
    


 


 


 


 


 


Total (1)

     4,659,254       4,809,088       5,048,065       4,844,610       4,765,872       40,567  

Operating expenses (1)

     3,658,367       3,752,369       3,945,147       4,060,444       3,933,233       33,480  
    


 


 


 


 


 


Operating income

     1,000,887       1,056,719       1,102,918       784,166       832,639       7,087  

Other income (expense) (2)

     (44,496 )     (13,751 )     (1,795 )     504,055       119,664       1,019  
    


 


 


 


 


 


Income before income taxes, equity in net losses of affiliates, minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries and cumulative effect of accounting change

     956,391       1,042,968       1,101,123       1,288,221       952,303       8,106  

Income taxes

     399,643       454,487       429,116       527,711       341,382       2,906  
    


 


 


 


 


 


Income before equity in net losses of affiliates, minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries and cumulative effect of accounting change

     556,748       588,481       672,007       760,510       610,921       5,200  

Equity in net losses of affiliates (3)(4)

     (643,962 )     (324,241 )     (21,960 )     (12,886 )     (364 )     (3 )

Minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries

     (28,977 )     (16,033 )     (40 )     (60 )     (76 )     (1 )
    


 


 


 


 


 


Income (loss) before cumulative effect of accounting change

     (116,191 )     248,207       650,007       747,564       610,481       5,196  

Cumulative effect of accounting change (1)

     —         (35,716 )     —         —         —         —    

Net income (loss)

   ¥ (116,191 )   ¥ 212,491     ¥ 650,007     ¥ 747,564     ¥ 610,481     $ 5,196  
    


 


 


 


 


 


Per Share Data

                                                

Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share

   ¥ (2,315 )   ¥ 4,254     ¥ 13,099     ¥ 15,771     ¥ 13,491     $ 114.84  

Dividends declared and paid per share (5)

   ¥ 200     ¥ 200     ¥ 1,000     ¥ 2,000     ¥ 3,000          

Dividends declared and paid per share (6)

   $ 1.64     $ 1.51     $ 8.72     $ 18.65     $ 25.54          

Balance Sheet Data

                                                

Working capital

   ¥ 107,013     ¥ 586,679     ¥ 493,679     ¥ 1,047,597     ¥ 558,459     $ 4,754  

Total property, plant and equipment, net

     2,618,992       2,676,128       2,702,505       2,682,429       2,777,454       23,642  

Total assets

     6,067,225       6,058,007       6,262,266       6,136,521       6,365,257       54,182  

Total debt (7)

     1,429,332       1,348,368       1,091,596       948,523       792,405       6,745  

Total liabilities

     2,671,717       2,582,018       2,557,510       2,228,468       2,312,120       19,681  

Total shareholders’ equity

     3,291,883       3,475,514       3,704,695       3,907,932       4,052,017       34,491  

Other Financial Data

                                                

Depreciation and amortization expenses and loss on sale or disposal of property, plant and equipment

     679,709       779,545       756,002       781,096       773,066       6,580  

Net cash provided by operating activities

     1,341,088       1,584,610       1,710,243       1,181,585       1,610,941       13,712  

Net cash used in investing activities

     (1,125,093 )     (871,430 )     (847,309 )     (578,329 )     (951,077 )     (8,096 )

Net cash used in financing activities

     (33,372 )     (333,277 )     (705,856 )     (672,039 )     (590,621 )     (5,027 )

Margins (percent of operating revenues):

                                                

Operating income margin

     21.5 %     22.0 %     21.8 %     16.2 %     17.5 %     17.5 %

Net income margin

     (2.5 )%     4.4 %     12.9 %     15.4 %     12.8 %     12.8 %

(1) We adopted EITF 01-09 from April 1, 2002. Therefore, equipment sales and operating expenses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002 are reclassified. Equipment sales and operating expenses for the year ended March 31, 2003, were decreased by ¥558,923 million and ¥571,223 million, respectively, as a result of the adoption of EITF 01-09. Operating expenses, amounting to ¥507,884 million for the year ended March 31, 2002 are also reclassified as a reduction of equipment sales. The cumulative effect of this accounting change relates to the timing for recognizing commissions payable to agents.
(2) Includes a gain on sale of AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. shares of ¥501,781 million for the year ended March 31, 2005, and an aggregate gain on sales of Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Limited and KPN-Mobile N.V. shares of ¥101,992 million for the year ended March 31, 2006.
(3) Includes impairment of investments in affiliates. See Note 6 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
(4) Net of deferred taxes of ¥470,278 million, ¥226,450 million, ¥(4,527) million, ¥1,492 million and ¥1,653 million in the years ended March 31, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively.
(5) The dividends declared and paid per share are adjusted to reflect the stock split (five-for-one) that took effect on May 15, 2002.
(6) The dividends per share were translated into U.S. dollars at the relevant record date.
(7) Total debt includes total short-term debt (including commercial paper and current portion of long-term debt) and long-term debt.

 

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Exchange Rate Data

 

The following table shows the exchange rates for Japanese yen per $1.00 based upon the noon buying rate in New York City for cash transfers in foreign currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York:

 

Fiscal Year ended March 31,


   High

   Low

   Average (1)

   Period-end

2002

   134.77    115.89    125.64    132.70

2003

   133.40    115.71    121.10    118.07

2004

   120.55    104.18    112.94    104.18

2005

   114.30    102.26    107.28    107.22

2006

   120.93    104.41    113.15    117.48

Calendar Year 2005


                   

December

   120.93    115.78    118.46    117.88

Calendar Year 2006


                   

January

   117.55    113.96    115.48    116.88

February

   118.95    115.82    117.86    115.82

March

   119.07    115.89    117.28    117.48

April

   118.66    113.79    117.07    113.79

May

   113.46    110.07    111.73    112.26

June (through June 20, 2006)

   115.26    111.66    113.93    115.02

(1) For fiscal years, calculated from the average of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the period. For calendar year months, calculated based on the average of daily closing exchange rates.

 

We have translated selected Japanese yen amounts presented in this annual report solely for your convenience. The rate we used for such translations was $1.00 = ¥117.48, which was the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers in foreign currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on March 31, 2006. The noon buying rate for Japanese yen on June 20, 2006 was $1.00 = ¥115.02.

 

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness.

 

Not applicable.

 

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds.

 

Not applicable.

 

D. Risk Factors

 

Risks Relating to Our Business and the Japanese Wireless Telecommunications Industry

 

With the introduction of Mobile Number Portability in Japan and the emergence of new service providers, competition is expected to intensify as the market environment changes. The increasing competition from other service providers and other technologies may limit our acquisition of new subscribers and retention of existing subscribers, may suppress ARPU and may increase our costs and expenses.

 

As we prepare for such factors as the introduction of Mobile Number Portability in Japan this fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 and the emergence of new service providers, we are experiencing increasing competition in the Japanese wireless telecommunications industry. For example, other cellular service providers have introduced new products and services, including 3G handsets, music player handsets, music distribution services,

 

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and fixed-rate services for voice communication limited to specified recipients, e-mail and the like. There are other cellular service providers that provide communication services based on technologies different from W-CDMA, which we have adopted for our 3G FOMA service, that currently provide faster data transmission speeds than our 3G services. Also, there are providers that now offer or may in the future offer services such as combined billing and aggregated point programs in conjunction with fixed line communications, which may be more convenient for customers.

 

On the other hand, there may be increased competition due to the introduction of other new services and technologies, especially low priced and flat-rate services, fixed line or mobile IP phones, high-speed fixed line broadband Internet service and digital broadcasting and wireless LAN, etc., or an integration of these services.

 

In addition to competition from other service providers and technologies, there are other factors increasing competition among mobile communications providers in Japan, such as saturation in the Japanese cellular market, changes to business and market structure, changes in the regulatory environment and increased rate competition.

 

Under such circumstances, the number of net new subscribers we acquire each month may continue to decline in the future and may not reach the number we expect. Also, in addition to difficulty in acquiring new subscribers, we may not be able to maintain existing subscribers at expected levels, due to increased competition among cellular service providers in the areas of rates and services. Furthermore, as a result of severe competition for acquisition of subscribers, we may need to incur higher costs than we expected, such as distributor commissions and other expenses. In this severely competitive environment, in order to provide various advanced services and increase user convenience, we have made various rate revisions, such as the introduction “pake-hodai”, meaning “as many packets as you want”, in June 2004, which is a flat-rate packet transmission service for FOMA i-mode, the introduction of a new, unified rate plan for FOMA services and mova services in November 2005, which users find simple and easy to understand, and a new rate plan that enables users to apply “pake-hodai” with all FOMA services. However, we cannot be certain whether these measures will enable us to acquire new and maintain existing subscribers. Furthermore, if the trend of subscribers using “Family Discounts” and switching to flat-rate services increases more than we expect, our ARPU may decrease more than we expect, which may have a material adverse affect on our financial condition and results of operation.

 

If the new services and forms of usage which we propose and introduce are not successful, our growth may be constrained.

 

We view the expansion of AV traffic such as TV phone via 3G handsets, the development and penetration of new services useful in everyday life and business through i-mode FeliCa, such as credit services, and other services and technologies and increased revenue through the expansion of data communications as important to our future growth. However, a number of uncertainties may arise to prevent the development of these services and constrain our growth. In particular, we cannot be certain that:

 

    we will be able to find the partners or content providers needed to provide the new services and forms of usage we are introducing and persuade a sufficient number of shops and other establishments to use i-mode FeliCa readers;

 

    we will be able to provide planned new services and forms of usage as scheduled and keep costs needed for the penetration and expansion of such services within budget;

 

    the services we offer and plan to offer will be attractive to current and potential subscribers and there will be sufficient demand for such services;

 

    manufacturers and content providers will create and offer products, including handsets for our 3G system and handsets and contents for our 3G i-mode service at an appropriate price and on a timely basis;

 

    our current or future data communication services including i-mode and other services will be attractive to existing and potential subscribers and achieve continued or new growth;

 

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    demand in the market for mobile handset functionality will be as we expect and as a result, our handset procurement costs will be reduced; and

 

    we will be able to commence services with improved data communication speed enabled by HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access, a high speed packet transmission technology utilizing W-CDMA) technology as we plan.

 

If the development of our new services or forms of usage is limited, it may have a material affect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The introduction or change of various laws or regulations or the application of such laws or regulations to us could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Japanese telecommunications industry has been undergoing regulatory reform in many areas including rate regulation. Because we operate on radio spectrum allocated by the government, the mobile telecommunications industry in which we operate is particularly affected by the regulatory environment. Various governmental bodies have been recommending or considering changes that could affect the mobile telecommunications industry, and there may be continued reforms including the introduction or revision of laws or regulations that could have an adverse effect on us. These include:

 

    revision of the spectrum allocation system such as reallocation of spectrum and introduction of an auction system;

 

    measures to open up Internet platforms and segment platform functions such as authentication and payment collection to other operators;

 

    rules that could require us to open our i-mode service to all content providers and Internet service providers or that could prevent us from setting or collecting i-mode content fees or putting i-mode service on cellular phone handsets as an initial setting;

 

    measures to enhance competition that would restrict our business operations in the telecommunications industry;

 

    regulation to prohibit or restrict certain content or transactions, or mobile Internet services such as i-mode;

 

    measures which would introduce new costs such as the designation of mobile phone communications as a universal service which would require us to provide service in all regions in Japan and other changes to the current universal service fund system

 

    regulations to increase handset competition such as the abolishment of financial incentives for sales of mobile handsets and SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) regulations; and

 

    fair competition measures relating to MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) such as the compulsory lease of networks.

 

It is difficult to predict with certainty if any of the above changes will be proposed to the relevant laws and regulations and, if they are made, the extent to which our business will be affected. However, the implementation of one or more of the changes described above, or other changes to laws and regulations, could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Limitations on the amount of frequency spectrum and facilities available to us may make it difficult for us to maintain and improve the quality of our services and the level of our customer satisfaction.

 

One of the principal limitations on a cellular communication network’s capacity is the available radio frequency spectrum it can use. We have limited spectrum and facilities available to us to provide our services. As a result, in certain parts of metropolitan Tokyo and Osaka, such as areas near major train stations, our cellular communication network operates at or near the maximum capacity of its available spectrum during peak periods,

 

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which may cause reduced service quality. In addition, the quality of the services we provide may also decrease due to the limited processing capacity of our base stations and switching facilities during peak usage periods, if our subscriber base dramatically increases or the volume of content such as images and music provided through our i-mode service is significantly expanded. Also, in relation to our 3G service and packet transmission flat fee service for 3G i-mode, an increase in the number of subscribers and traffic volume by such subscribers may go substantially beyond our projections, we may not be able to process such traffic with our existing facilities and our quality of service may decline.

 

Furthermore, with an increasing number of subscribers and traffic volume, our quality of service may decline if we cannot get the necessary allocation of spectrum from the government for the smooth operation of our business.

 

We may not be able to avoid reduced quality of services despite our continued efforts to improve the efficiency of our use of spectrum through technology and to acquire new spectrum. If we are not able to successfully address such problems in a timely manner, we may experience constraints on the growth of our mobile communications services or lose subscribers to our competitors, which may materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We cannot guarantee overseas operators will introduce the W-CDMA technology and mobile multimedia services we currently use in our 3G system, which would adversely affect our ability to offer our international services to our subscribers.

 

For our 3G system, we currently use Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or W-CDMA, technology. W-CDMA technology is one of the global standards for cellular telecommunications technology approved by the International Telecommunications Union, or ITU, as part of its efforts to standardize 3G cellular technology through the issuance of guidelines known as IMT-2000. We may be able to offer our services, such as global roaming, on a worldwide basis if enough other mobile operators adopt handsets and network facilities based on W-CDMA standard technology which are compatible with ours. We expect that the companies we have invested in overseas, our overseas strategic partners and many other mobile operators will adopt this technology.

 

Also, we have technology alliances with overseas operators in relation to i-mode service and we are aggressively promoting the spread and expansion of i-mode service by overseas operators.

 

However, if a sufficient number or other mobile operators do not adopt W-CDMA technology or there is a delay in the introduction of W-CDMA technology, we may not be able to offer global roaming services as expected and we may not be able to offer our subscribers the convenience of overseas service. Also, in the case if adoption of W-CDMA technology abroad is not conducted sufficiently and the number of i-mode subscribers among our strategic partners and the usage of i-mode service by those subscribers does not increase sufficiently, we may not realize the benefits of economies of scale we currently expect in terms of purchasing network facilities and offering of handsets and contents developed for our services at appropriate prices. Also, we cannot be sure that handset manufacturers or manufacturers of network equipment will be able to appropriately and promptly adjust their handsets and network equipment if we need to change the handsets or network we currently use due to a change in W-CDMA technology as a result of activities conducted by standard-setting organizations.

 

If W-CDMA technology and i-mode services do not develop as we expect, and we are not able to improve the quality of our overseas services or enjoy the benefits of global economies of scale, that may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We cannot guarantee that our domestic and international investments, alliances and collaborations and investments in new businesses will produce sufficient opportunities or returns.

 

One of the major components of our strategy is to increase our corporate value through domestic and overseas investments, alliances and collaborations. We have entered into alliances and collaborations with other

 

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companies and organizations overseas which we believe could help us achieve this objective. We are also promoting this strategy by investing, entering into alliances with and collaborating with domestic companies and investing in new business areas. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance the value or performance of our past or future investments, or that we will receive the returns or benefits we expect from these investments, alliances and collaborations. Our investments in new business areas outside of the mobile telecommunication business may be accompanied by challenges beyond our expectations, as we have little experience in such new areas of business.

 

In recent years, the companies in which we have invested have experienced a variety of negative developments, including severe competition, increased debt burdens, significant volatility in share prices and financial difficulties. To the extent that these investments are accounted for by the equity method and to the extent that the investee companies have net losses, our financial results will be adversely affected by our pro rata portion of these losses. If there is a loss in the value of our investment in any investee company and such loss in value is other than a temporary decline, we may be required to adjust the book value and recognize an impairment loss for such investment. Also, a business combination or other similar transaction involving any of our investee companies could require us to realize impairment loss for any decline in the value of investment in such investee company. In either event, our financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

 

As electronic payment capabilities and many other new features are built into our cellular handsets, and the services of third parties are provided through our cellular handsets, problems may arise in the event that handsets malfunction, contain defects, are lost or fail to complete services provided by other operators.

 

Various functions are mounted on the mobile handsets we provide, and if we cannot appropriately deal with technological problems that may arise with respect to current or future handsets or the malfunction or loss of handsets, our credibility may decline and our corporate image may be damaged, leading to an increase in contract cancellations or an increase in expenses for indemnity payments to subscribers and our financial condition or results of operations may be affected. New issues may arise which are different from those related to mobile communications services which we have been providing, especially with i-mode handsets with FeliCa capabilities that can be used for electronic payment and credit transactions. Events that may lead to a decrease in our credibility and corporate image include the following:

 

    Breakdown, defect and malfunction of our handsets;

 

    Loss of information, e-money or points due to a breakdown of handsets or other factors;

 

    Illegal use of information, e-money, credit functions and points by third parties due to a loss or theft of handsets;

 

    Illegal access to and use of user records and balances accumulated on handsets by third-parties; and

 

    Inadequate and inappropriate management of e-money, credit functions or points by companies with which we make alliances or collaborate.

 

Social issues that may arise from misuse or misunderstanding of our products and services may adversely affect our credibility or corporate image.

 

We may face an increase in cancellations of existing subscriptions and difficulty in acquiring new subscribers, due to decreased credibility of our products and services and damaged corporate image caused by inappropriate use of our products and services by unscrupulous subscribers.

 

Unsolicited bulk e-mail, for instance, is a problem for our i-mode service. Despite our extensive efforts to address this issue to protect our subscribers from incurring any economic disadvantage caused by unsolicited bulk e-mails, including notifying to our subscribers via various brochures, providing unsolicited bulk e-mail filtering function with our handsets and pursuing actions against companies which distribute large amounts of

 

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such unsolicited bulk e-mails, the problem has not yet been rooted out. Also, recently, a different kind of unsolicited bulk e-mail using “short-mail” and “SMS (short message service)” we provide in addition to i-mode, is becoming an issue. If our subscribers receive a large amount of unsolicited e-mails, it may cause a decrease in customer satisfaction and damage our corporate image, leading to a reduction in the number of our i-mode subscribers.

 

Mobile phones have been used in crimes such as “it’s me” fraud, in which callers request an emergency bank remittance pretending to be a relative. To combat these misuses of our services, we have introduced various measures such as more strict identification confirmation at points of purchase, and furthermore ended new contracts for pre-paid mobile phones as of the end of March 2005 because pre-paid mobile phones are easier to use in crimes. However, in the event criminal usage increases, mobile phones may be regarded as a problem and lead to an increase in cancellation of contracts.

 

In addition, as our handsets and services become more sophisticated, new issues may arise when subscribers are charged fees for packet transmission at levels higher than they are aware of as a result of using handsets without fully recognizing over use of packet transmission in terms of frequency and volume. Also, inappropriate use of our mobile handsets with built-in camera has become a social issue such as taking photos of an article from a magazine in a bookstore or taking pictures at art galleries and museums where picture taking is prohibited. Furthermore, there are issues concerning manners for phone usage in public places such as in trains and occurrence of car accidents caused by the use of mobile phones while driving. These issues may similarly damage our corporate image.

 

To date, we believe that we have properly addressed these social issues surrounding mobile phones. However, it is uncertain whether we will be able to continue addressing those issues appropriately in the future as well and when we fail to do so, we may experience an increase in cancellation of existing subscriber contracts or fail to acquire new subscribers as expected and it may affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Inappropriate handling of subscriber information by our employees or subcontractors would damage our credibility and corporate image.

 

In April 2005, the Law concerning the protection of personal information (the “Personal Information Protection Law”) came into force and protection of personal information became an important issue at companies which handle personal information. We hold information on our subscribers, and to appropriately and promptly address the Personal Information Protection Law, we have set up an “information security department” to put in place comprehensive security management across the company, such as thorough management of subscriber information, employee education, supervision of subcontractors and by strengthening technological security.

 

However, in the event an information leak occurs despite these security measures, our credibility may be significantly damaged and we may experience an increase in cancellation of subscriber contracts, an increase in indemnity cost and slower increase in additional subscribers and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

If we are unable to obtain licenses, etc., or other rights to use the intellectual property rights of third parties that are crucial to our business, we may not be able to offer certain technology, products, or services. In addition, our group may be liable for damages due to infringement of the intellectual property rights of other companies.

 

In order for the company to carry out the business, it is necessary to obtain licenses, etc., or other rights to use the intellectual property rights of third parties. Currently, our group is obtaining the licenses etc. from the holder of the right concerned by concluding the license agreement etc. We will obtain the licenses etc. from the holders of the rights concerned if others have the right of those intellectual property rights, etc. which are necessary for us to operate a business in future. However, in case that we can not come on an agreement among

 

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holders of the rights concerned or mutual agreement concerning the granted right can not be maintained afterwards, there is a possibility that specific technology, product or service of our group can not be provided. Also, if our group receives the insistence of having violated the right of the intellectual property right etc. from others, we may take a lot of time and cost for the solution, and if the others’ concerned insistences are admitted, we may owe the liability for damage etc. because of the violation of a right concerned.

 

Earthquakes, power shortages, malfunction of facilities, software bugs and viruses, hacking, unauthorized access or cyber attacks may cause system failures in our cellular network, handsets or other networks required for the provision of service, disrupting our ability to offer our services to our subscribers and damaging our group’s credibility and corporate image.

 

We have built a nationwide network including base stations, antennas, switching centers and transmission lines and provide mobile communication service using this network. In order to operate our network systems in a safe and stable manner, we have various measures in place, such as duplicate systems. However, despite these measures, our system could fail for various reasons including hardware problems, network damage caused by earthquakes, power shortages, typhoons, floods, terrorism and similar phenomenon and events. These system failures can require an extended time for repair and as a result, it may lead to decreased revenue and increased repair costs and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

There have been instances in which millions of computers worldwide were infected by viruses though the Internet. Similar incidents could occur on our mobile communications network. If such a virus entered our network or handsets through such means as hacking, unauthorized access, or otherwise, our system could fail and our mobile phones become unusable. In such an instance, the credibility of our network and customer satisfaction could decrease significantly. Although we have enhanced our security system to block unauthorized access and remote downloading in order to provide for unexpected events, such precautions may not make our system fully prepared for every event.

 

In the event we are unable to properly respond to any such events, our credibility corporate image may be reduced, and we may experience a decrease in revenues as well as significant repair cost expenses which may affect our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, our network could be affected by software bugs or human errors which are not the result of malfeasance, but also result in a system failure.

 

Concerns about adverse effect on health by wireless telecommunications may increase.

 

Media and other reports have suggested that electric wave emissions from wireless handsets and other wireless equipment may adversely affect the health of mobile phone users and others, including by causing cancer and vision loss and interfering with various electronic medical devices, including hearing aids and pacemakers, and also may present increased health risks for users who are children. While these reports have not been conclusive, and although the findings in such reports are disputed, the actual or perceived risk of wireless telecommunications devices to the health of users could adversely affect us through increased cancellation by existing subscribers, reduced subscriber growth, reduced usage per subscriber or litigation, and may also potentially adversely affect our corporate image, financial condition and results of operations. The perceived risk of wireless devices may have been elevated by certain wireless carriers and handset manufactures affixing labels to their handsets showing levels of electric wave emissions or warnings about possible health risks. Research and studies are ongoing and we are actively attempting to confirm the safety of wireless telecommunications, but there can be no assurance that further research and studies will not demonstrate a relation between electric wave emissions and health problems.

 

Furthermore, although the electric wave emissions of our cellular handsets and base stations comply with the electromagnetic safety guidelines of Japan, including guidelines regarding the specific absorption rate of electric waves, and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the guidelines of which are regarded as an international safety standard, the Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference of Japan has

 

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confirmed that some electronic medical devices are affected by the electromagnetic interference from cellular phones as well as other portable radio transmitters. As a result, Japan has adopted a policy to restrict the use of cellular services inside medical facilities. We are working to ensure that our subscribers are aware of these restrictions when using cellular phones. There is a possibility that modifications to regulations, new regulations or restrictions could limit our ability to expand our market or our subscriber base or otherwise adversely affect us.

 

Our parent, NTT, could exercise influence that may not be in the interests of our other shareholders.

 

As of March 31, 2006, NTT owned 62.2% of our outstanding voting shares. While being subject to the conditions for fair competition established by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, or MPT, in April 1992, NTT retains the right to control our management as a majority shareholder, including the right to appoint our directors. Currently, although we conduct our day-to-day operations independently of NTT and its other subsidiaries, certain important matters are discussed with, or reported to, NTT. As such, NTT could take actions that are in its best interests, which may not be in the interests of our other shareholders.

 

Risks Relating to the Shares and the ADSs

 

Future sales of our shares by NTT or by us may adversely affect the trading price of our shares and ADSs.

 

As of March 31, 2006, NTT owned 62.2% of our outstanding voting shares. Under Japanese law, NTT, like any other shareholder, generally is able to dispose of our shares freely on the Tokyo Stock Exchange or otherwise. In addition, various governmental bodies have recommended that NTT be required to decrease its ownership percentage in our company. NTT’s position announced in its release in October 2001 was that decisions on NTT’s investment ratio of our company would continue to be considered from the standpoint of maximizing its shareholders profits, taking into account operational necessities and stock market trends. Additionally, our Board of Directors is authorized to issue 141,320,000 additional shares generally without any shareholder approval. The sale or issuance or the potential for sale or issuance of such shares could have an adverse impact on the market price of our shares.

 

There are restrictions on your ability to withdraw shares from the depositary receipt facility.

 

Each ADS represents the right to receive 1/100th of a share of common stock. Therefore, pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement with our depositary, The Bank of New York, in order to withdraw any shares, a holder of ADSs must surrender for cancellation and withdrawal of shares, ADRs evidencing 100 ADSs or any integral multiple thereof. Each ADR will bear a legend to that effect. As a result, holders of ADSs will be unable to withdraw fractions of shares from the depositary or receive any cash settlement in lieu of withdrawal of fractions of shares. In addition, although the ADSs themselves may be transferred in any lots pursuant to the deposit agreement, the ability to trade the underlying shares may be limited.

 

Holders of ADRs have fewer rights than shareholders and have to act through the depositary to exercise those rights.

 

Holders of ADRs do not have the same rights as shareholders and accordingly cannot exercise rights of shareholders against us. The Bank of New York, as depositary, through its custodian agent, is the registered shareholder of the deposited shares underlying the ADSs, and therefore only it can exercise the rights of shareholders in connection with the deposited shares. In certain cases, we may not ask The Bank of New York to ask holders of ADSs for instructions as to how they wish their shares voted. Even if we ask The Bank of New York to ask holders of ADSs for such instructions, it may not be possible for The Bank of New York to obtain these instructions from ADS holders in time for The Bank of New York to vote in accordance with such instructions. The Bank of New York is only obliged to try, as far as practical, and subject to Japanese law and our Articles of Incorporation, to vote or have its agents vote the deposited shares as holders of ADSs instruct. In your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to bring a derivative action, examine the accounting books and records of the company, or exercise appraisal rights.

 

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U.S. investors may have difficulty in serving process or enforcing a judgment against us or our directors, executive officers or corporate auditors.

 

We are a limited liability, joint stock corporation incorporated under the laws of Japan. Most of our directors, executive officers and corporate auditors reside in Japan. All or substantially all of our assets and the assets of these persons are located in Japan and elsewhere outside the United States. It may not be possible, therefore, for U.S. investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce against us or these persons judgments obtained in U.S. Courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the Federal securities laws of the United States. There is doubt as to the enforceability in Japan, in original actions or in actions for enforcement of judgment of U.S. courts, of liabilities predicated solely upon the federal securities laws of the United States.

 

Rights of shareholders under Japanese law may be different from rights of shareholders in jurisdictions within the United States.

 

Our Articles of Incorporation, our Board of Directors’ regulations and the Japanese Commercial Code govern our corporate affairs. Legal principles relating to such matters as the validity of corporate procedures, directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties and liabilities, and shareholders’ rights under Japanese law may be different from those that would apply to a company incorporated in a jurisdiction within the United States. You may have more difficulty in asserting your rights as a shareholder than you would as a shareholder of a corporation organized in a jurisdiction within the United States.

 

Item 4. Information on the Company.

 

A. History and Development of the Company.

 

We are a joint stock corporation incorporated and registered under the laws of Japan in August 1991 under the name NTT Mobile Communications Planning Co., Ltd., and, in April 1992, we were renamed NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. We changed our name to NTT DoCoMo, Inc. on April 1, 2000. Our corporate headquarters is at Sanno Park Tower, 11-1, Nagata-cho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6150, Japan. Our telephone number is 81-3-5156-1111. We have no agent in the United States in connection with this annual report.

 

Our parent is Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, or NTT, the holding company of NTT group. NTT group constitutes one of the world’s largest telephone operators. We were incorporated as a subsidiary of NTT in August 1991 and took over NTT’s wireless telecommunications operations in July 1992. In July 1993, in accordance with the agreement between NTT and the MPT, we transferred wireless telecommunications operations (other than those in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region which remained with us) to our eight regional subsidiaries.

 

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The following diagram shows our corporate organization and includes our principal subsidiaries and affiliates as of March 31, 2006. Unless otherwise indicated, we own 100% of the voting securities of the subsidiaries included in the diagram. With the exception of some affiliates for which shares are held through dedicated holding companies, the percentages in parenthesis represent our direct holdings in these subsidiaries and affiliates.

 

LOGO

 

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(1) These service subsidiaries provide operational services, such as engineering and support services, to NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
(2) These DoCoMo regional subsidiaries provide wireless services in respective geographical regions in Japan, other than the region in which NTT DoCoMo, Inc. itself provides such services.
(3) These indirect service subsidiaries provide operational services, such as engineering and other services, to the respective DoCoMo regional subsidiaries which wholly own them.

 

For a discussion of recent and current capital expenditures, please see “Capital Expenditures” in Item 5.B. We have had no recent significant divestitures nor are any significant divestitures currently being made.

 

B. Business Overview.

 

Overview

 

We are Japan’s leading wireless telecommunications services provider and one of the largest cellular phone service operators in the world as measured by total number of cellular subscribers, with an aggregate cellular subscriber base of approximately 51.14 million and an estimated domestic market share of 55.7% as of March 31, 2006. We offer a range of high-quality, high-mobility telecommunications services such as 3G and second generation, or 2G, cellular services, Personal Handyphone System, or PHS services, and other specialized wireless telecommunications services, including Quickcast services (paging services) and satellite mobile communications services.

 

For the year ended March 31, 2006, we had operating revenues of ¥4,765,872 million and operating income of ¥832,639 million, representing an operating margin of 17.5%. Our net income was ¥610,481 million, which was equivalent to net income per share of ¥13,491. Our management currently believes that we have sufficient financial flexibility and strength to pursue our strategic plans.

 

Although our basic services continue to be voice services, we are increasingly focusing on the development of wireless data transmission and mobile multimedia services such as our i-mode Internet service and our 3G services. We introduced i-mode services, one of the world’s first handset-based Internet access services, in February 1999. As of March 31, 2006, 46.36 million cellular subscribers had signed up for i-mode services, a 5.3% increase from the 44.0 million subscribers as of March 31, 2005. i-mode is an optional service available to cellular voice subscribers offered on our nationwide 2G and 3G networks which allows users to send and receive e-mail, access online services including banking services and airline and ticket reservations, access an array of information from i-mode servers and execute and settle retail transactions directly through their handsets. Almost all handsets which we currently sell are i-mode compatible, thus allowing our customers the freedom to choose whether or not to subscribe to i-mode service. The introduction of i-mode services enhanced our business in many ways, including encouraging our cellular phone users to use data transmission more, significantly increasing data revenue, expanding our market share, increasing the number of subscribers, creating new sources of income and strengthening our brand image.

 

We have also introduced other services to promote and capture the increasing demand for mobile multimedia services. These include services that allow Internet access through the combination of a cellular phone and a laptop computer or personal digital assistant, more commonly known as a PDA. Other services include music and video content distribution services, mobile e-commerce services and location-based pinpointing services through the global positioning system, or GPS, and cellular network. We are also promoting wireless data communication and have released products such as PDAs and card type wireless Internet access devices which are used for laptop PCs and PDAs. In addition to expanding the market for person-to-person communications such as i-mode, we are creating a market for ubiquitous machine-to-machine communications such as remote monitoring of vending machines. We are promoting the use of videophones as a communication tool and other applications and services which integrate cellular services into users daily lives through the use of external interfaces such as IrDA, QR code and contactless ICs. IrDA is a short-range data communications standard that uses infrared rays and QR Code is a two-dimensional code for expressing vertical and horizontal

 

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alphanumeric characters, Japanese characters, images, etc. We promote our Osaifu-Keitai service on a commercial basis using contactless ICs, to create new usage opportunities by linking our handsets with other business platforms such as electronic money, membership certificates and point programs, etc. We also introduced a new brand for mobile credit payment services and issued a new conventional credit card that can be used in conjunction with this mobile credit payment service.

 

We offer our cellular phone services on our nationwide 2G and 3G networks. Our 2G and 3G networks cover essentially all of the population of Japan (we calculate population coverage ratios by dividing the population within our “coverage area”—determined by whether the local government offices of cities, towns and villages, such as the city hall, are within the service area of the network—by the total population in Japan). We are concentrating on meeting customer needs by expanding service areas, improving quality, and building additional facilities in conjunction with higher communications demand.

 

Our 2G network is based on the Personal Digital Cellular, or PDC, telecommunications system. PDC is a Time Division Multiple Access, or TDMA, based system that supports both voice and data communications and a full range of supplementary services including, among others, call waiting, voice mail, three-party calling and call forwarding. Voice transmissions on our 2G network are offered at 11.2 kbps, although we conserve spectrum by using a half-rate transmission speed (5.6 kbps) at congested times. We provide circuit switching data transmission at 9.6 kbps. We also use a version of PDC that we refer to as PDC-P for our packet-switched network. PDC-P allows data transmission at up to 28.8 kbps for our “DoPa” packet transmission and i-mode services.

 

We also offer voice and data transmission services on our PHS network. The number of PHS subscribers decreased from 1.31 million in March 2005 to 0.77 million as of March 31, 2006. As of April 30, 2005, we had stopped accepting new applications for PHS service, and we aim to terminate service during the third quarter of the year ending March 31, 2008. We will determine the specific date for termination of service while monitoring the PHS usage trends of our customers.

 

We further upgraded our 2G networks and systems, such as the 2G PDC, PDC-P and PHS networks, and in order to more fully exploit the potential demand for mobile multimedia, we introduced a 3G network and system on a fully commercial basis in October 2001. We believe that the introduction of 3G services marked the start of a full-scale mobile multimedia era by increasing the speed and sophistication with which music, video and other data can be downloaded to mobile phone handsets and other communication devices. We developed and our 3G system based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or W-CDMA, a high performance technology using broadband capabilities that allows variable-speed, multi-rate transmissions and supports high-quality voice transmissions and high-speed data communications, video and other multimedia services including mobile computing. We have developed our 3G wireless telecommunications system in connection with 3G standardization efforts of the International Telecommunications Union, or ITU. For a discussion of the 3G standardization efforts and the status of 3G development and deployment, please see “3G Networks- 3G Standardization Efforts” in this Item 4.B.

 

Our 3G system provides high quality voice transmission services, circuit switched data services (at 64 kbps) and high-speed packet transmission services (at up to 384 kbps), and serves as a platform for FOMA i-mode services. As of March 31, 2006, the number of FOMA subscriber was approximately 23.46 million, doubled from 11.5 million subscribers we had as of March 31, 2005, and octupled from March 31, 2004. Our FOMA population coverage ratio as of March 31, 2006, was virtually 100% of Japan (with the exception of some islands) and included all urban areas nationwide.

 

We have also been promoting the adoption by mobile communications operators around the world of 3G services using W-CDMA technology, which is one of the global technology standards for mobile telecommunications, and mobile multimedia services, including i-mode. Through these efforts, we aim to:

 

    Increase revenues from international roaming services, license agreements and consulting services;

 

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    Earn dividends revenues and capital gains from investments; and

 

    Expand our revenue sources into mobile-related businesses.

 

Through these revenue generation activities and also cost reduction activities, such as joint procurement of handsets and other equipment, we seek to strengthen our competitiveness and improve our earnings in an increasingly global telecommunications market.

 

To achieve our international strategic objectives, we have made investments and became minority shareholders in telecommunication operators overseas, including Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd., or Far EasTone, Hutchison Telephone Company Limited, or HTCL, KT Freetel Co., Ltd. or KTF, and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, or PLDT. We have established alliances through which we have licensed the technology for our popular i-mode data communications and wireless Internet access service to many other mobile telecommunications providers in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. We have also formed an alliance tentatively called the “Asia-Pacific Mobile Alliance” with Far EasTone, Hutchison Essar Limited, HTCL, KTF, Ltd., PT Indosat Tbk, and StarHub Ltd. to enhance members’ competitiveness in international roaming and corporate mobile services within their own countries and regions and across the Asia-Pacific region. Through our investments in and alliances with other mobile telecommunications providers, we have established footholds for our technology and services in many parts of the world. For additional information regarding our international investments and alliances, see “- Global Businesses—International Investments and Licensing Agreements”.

 

We conduct cutting-edge research and development both in and outside of Japan on what we believe is the largest scale of any wireless operator in the world. We organize our research and development efforts through our R&D division, which includes centers for network research, wireless research and multimedia research. To assist us in our W-CDMA development as well as the research and development of additional advanced technology, we established our NTT DoCoMo R&D Center in Yokosuka Research Park in 1998. We believe that the R&D Center is an example of our commitment to the development of cutting-edge services, products and technologies and will continue to position us as a provider of advanced technology for mobile communications. Currently at the R&D Center, we are striving to further develop mobile phone services and are engaging in the development of HSDPA and Super 3G, as well as in fundamental research for 4G.

 

We benefit from the strong positive perception in Japan of the DoCoMo brand name. We also benefit from the strong positive perception of the brand name of NTT, our controlling shareholder. To market our services and products throughout Japan, we have established an extensive nationwide distribution and after-sales service and support network comprised primarily of independent agents, which, as of March 31, 2006, included approximately 1,535 DoCoMo Shops (which exclusively offer our products and services), approximately 515 primary agents and approximately 13,550 general agents.

 

Due to the wide adoption and advancement of mobile communications services, cellular phones have become indispensable tools for people’s daily activities. The rapid growth in its uptake, on the other hand, has also caused some negative social problems, such as spam and crimes involving the use of cellular handsets. Meanwhile, people’s concerns against earthquakes and other natural disasters as well as global environment have heightened in the recent years.

 

To address these issues, we have worked to improve the reliability of our communications facilities and network and reinforced countermeasures against disasters, strongly aware of our mission to fulfill our corporate social responsibility. As a part of our measures to tackle social problems resulting from the use of cellular phones, we have continuously worked to prevent spam, and responded to the issues addressed in the surveys and research programs conducted by the Mobile Society Research Institute. In addition, we have actively promoted various environmental conservation and social contribution activities on an ongoing basis, including the collection and recycling of used mobile phone handsets and accessories, saving on paper resources by offering an “e-billing service” which provides customers’ bills through our website or by e-mail message, the “DoCoMo Woods” forestation campaign, and encouraging our employees to take part in various community works as volunteers.

 

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At DoCoMo group, we believe that it is our social mission to help shape a safer and more peaceful world. To realize this goal, we set forth the “DoCoMo Anshin Mission” during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, under which the whole corporate group implemented various measures and promoted technical innovations in a comprehensive and unified approach.

 

The concrete actions undertaken under “DoCoMo Anshin Mission” include the following:

 

    Introduced a mechanism to prevent mail-based spoofing, and reinforced measures against spam by allowing the combined use of i-mode’s selective mail reception and selective mail rejection functions.

 

    Held approximately 600 sessions of “DoCoMo Keitai Safety School” seminars in elementary, junior and senior high schools and local communities nationwide to provide children with tips on safe and courteous phone usage.

 

    Released FOMA SA800i “Kids’ PHONE” equipped with various safety functions so that parents can allow children to carry mobile phones with fewer concerns. At the same time, launched the “imadoco search” locating service and “Kids’ i-menu” featuring content designed specifically for children.

 

    To assist users with disabilities to more actively participate in social activities, expanded the number of subscribers eligible for fee exemptions and eliminated the fees previously required for service subscribers when changing handset models under our “Hearty Discount” extended to our customers with disabilities.

 

    Released an environment-friendly handset made of bio-plastic, FOMA N701iECO, as a part of our environment conservation initiatives.

 

    To improve the convenience of “i-mode Disaster Message Board Service”, enabled users to register and confirm messages regarding a person’s safety in the wake of disaster without the need to pay for packet transmission charges. Also, added “registered mail transmission function”, which sends a message posted on the Message Board to pre-designated mail addresses, and enabled users to access and confirm registered messages from abroad via i-mode.

 

Our Services

 

We offer a variety of services to support our subscribers’ needs for wireless voice and data communications. While our primary service continues to be our cellular voice services, we are increasingly focusing on mobile multimedia services, such as i-mode, and our 3G services called “FOMA”, which stands for Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access as well as continuing to offer other services.

 

Cellular Services

 

Our core business is our cellular services. For the year ended March 31, 2006, our cellular services, including associated equipment sales accounted for approximately 98.2% of our consolidated operating revenues. We offer mova service, on our 2G network, compatible with voice and data communication. We also offer FOMA service, on our 3G network, with voice and high-speed data communication which is compatible with various services such as Videophone and, video content downloading.

 

In order to provide additional options and services for the convenience of our subscribers and to increase revenues through value-added services, we also offer cellular subscribers a number of standard optional features including voice mail, call forwarding, and call waiting. In September 2003, we introduced the “Melody Call” service which allows users to set music as their ring tone and to play music for incoming callers. In December 2004, we introduced the “Option Pack Discount” under which, by signing up for voice mail, call waiting, Melody Call, and call forwarding at the same time, a user will see the basic monthly usage charges lowered from ¥600 to ¥400.

 

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Cellular (mova) Services

 

We offer cellular voice services on networks that are accessible by virtually the entire population of Japan. Our primary cellular voice services are offered on our nationwide 800 MHz digital network. We also offer cellular voice services on a 1.5 GHz network, covering primarily the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas and certain neighboring areas. The nationwide 800 MHz network and the 1.5 GHz network are our 2G networks. We ceased accepting new applications for our cellular phone services using the 1.5 GHz radio band (City Phone services) at the end of September 30, 2004, and our pre paid cellular phone services (Pre-Call services) at the end of March 31, 2005.

 

Cellular (FOMA) Services

 

FOMA services are our third generation, or 3G, wireless voice and data transmission services. FOMA services use advanced technology which allows us to offer faster and higher quality services to our users. We aim to further develop and expand FOMA services in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. In the year ended March 31, 2006, we saw significant growth in FOMA, with subscribers reaching approximately 23.46 million. Over the coming years, we expect a continued shift in our subscriber base from mova services to FOMA services.

 

Our basic strategy is to expand our FOMA services. We believe that our FOMA services are well-suited for both ordinary users as well as business users because of FOMA’s advanced features, including clear voice quality, high data communication speeds, video transmission capabilities and diversified billing plans for packet transmission.

 

One of the primary advantages of our FOMA services is the increased quality and speed at which services are available. Additionally, these new services offer the ability to simultaneously handle both voice communications and data packet transmissions so that subscribers can continue talking while sending and receiving data. FOMA services that we currently offer include videophone, video mail, high-speed Internet connection services, FOMA i-mode services and mobile computing and various information based services.

 

In November 2001, we launched our “i-motion” video-clip distribution service which enables users to obtain video-content at a speed up to 384 Kbps. In May 2003, we launched commercial service of “V-Live” which enables FOMA users to access to streaming video live and archived video, with contents including music, sports, news, animation, and tourist information. In November 2005, we launched our “Push Talk” service, which allows real time group conversations for up to five speakers, simultaneously.

 

In June 2003, we launched an international roaming service for FOMA called “WORLD WING”, which allows FOMA subscribers traveling abroad to make and receive calls from their regular FOMA phone numbers by inserting the FOMA UIM chip that comes with their FOMA handset into a GSM handset. As we introduced a 3G and GSM capable handset in December 2004, WORLD WING subscribers are now able to make and receive calls from their regular FOMA phone number without changing their handset in 132 countries and regions as of March 31, 2006. As we launched international packet roaming service in December 2004, this handset also enables WORLD WING subscribers to access i-mode packet transmission in 69 countries and regions as of March 31, 2006.

 

In February 2005, we launched international SMS for FOMA subscribers, and in July 2005 we introduced international MMS (multimedia messaging service). FOMA users are able to make international videophone calls via our 3G networks to 3G subscribers in 23 countries and regions including the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.

 

i-mode

 

i-mode services are wireless Internet access services based on a data transmission system that organizes data into bundles called packets prior to transmission. Our i-mode handsets allow subscribers to send and receive data

 

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through our i-mode server to and from the Internet while also providing users with the full range of cellular voice services. i-mode is an optional service available to mova and FOMA subscribers which allows users to send and receive e-mail, access online services such as banking services and airline and ticket reservations, access an array of information from i-mode servers and execute and settle retail transactions directly through their handsets. Almost all cellular handsets which we currently sell are i-mode compatible, thus allowing our customers to choose whether or not to subscribe to i-mode service. We introduced i-mode to take advantage of the growth in demand for data transmission services. The introduction of i-mode services encouraged our cellular phone users to use data transmission more and thereby changed the way cellular phones are used in Japan.

 

Basics of i-mode Services

 

Our i-mode services consist of four main components: the i-mode handset, the i-mode packet network, the i-mode server and content providers.

 

The base of i-mode services is the handset itself. An i-mode handset is a standard cellular handset with i-mode related equipment that includes a display screen, a color-browser and the ability to transmit and receive data packets at up to 28.8 kbps using our 2G network or at up to 384 kbps using our 3G network. The physical appearance of i-mode handsets is almost identical to standard handsets, except for a slightly larger display screen to accommodate various i-mode functions, such as the Internet browser. The browser can read a subset of HTML, which is the standard language for the Internet. Almost all of the cellular handsets we currently sell are i-mode compatible and most are equipped with built-in cameras. Most new customers subscribe to receive i-mode services together with cellular phone services.

 

From the i-mode handset, data are transmitted to a packet network. mova i-mode is based on the PDC mobile packet transmission system and uses the same packet network as our packet transmission service, which is called “DoPa”. The packet network acts as a relay station between the handset and the i-mode server. FOMA i-mode is based on our 3G network which also supports voice communication services for our FOMA subscribers.

 

The i-mode server functions as the gateway between our network and the Internet. The function of the i-mode server is data distribution, e-mail transmission and storage, i-mode customer management, content provider management and information charging. The i-mode server is also connected to certain banks and other information providers either by leased lines or through the Internet.

 

The final and most important element of i-mode services is content. Content is provided by content providers through i-mode portal menu sites and voluntary web sites. In February 1999, when i-mode services were introduced, i-mode users had access to 67 content providers, but voluntary web sites had not been introduced. As of March 31, 2006, there were approximately 6,000 DoCoMo i-mode portal menu sites and approximately 93,500 voluntary web sites.

 

i-mode Services

 

Typical services that may be accessed through an i-mode handset include:

 

    e-mail;

 

    games and other entertainment;

 

    news, weather and sports information;

 

    restaurant guides, locations and reservations;

 

    mobile banking;

 

    other financial services, such as credit card services and information and online stock quotes and trading;

 

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    ticket reservation and purchase (including for concerts and sporting events);

 

    e-shopping (CDs, books);

 

    travel reservations;

 

    telephone directories; and

 

    classified ads (including part-time job offerings, apartment and house hunting, and car sales).

 

We offer an area-specific information service called “i-area”, which provides weather, dining, traffic and other types of information to our i-mode users. “i-area” is a service that automatically selects and displays i-mode content relating to the current whereabouts of an i-mode user. Users do not select service areas since the base stations automatically recognize their general location. Our “open i-area” service allows any content provider to relay i-area information to users.

 

We plan to continue to add attractive i-mode services. To broaden the capabilities of i-mode, and in cooperation with Sun Microsystems, Inc., we introduced in January 2001 a new series of i-mode handsets with Java that enables users, through their handsets alone, to run programs and play games, and SSL capabilities that enable users to access advanced intranets and other information. We have introduced i-appli services and content specifically for our Java based handsets, and have introduced and are expanding our English-language content.

 

In June 2002, we introduced “i-shot” service for our mova services, which allows users to transmit digital still images taken with mobile phones that feature built-in digital cameras. Users can send images through our nationwide circuit switch network, which provides a more economical means of transmitting large amounts of data compared to a packet network. There is no subscriber fee for i-shot service. Users pay a per transmission charge, which depends on the size of the data being sent and other conditions.

 

We also advise, provide know-how to and invest in i-mode content providers through a subsidiary, DoCoMo.com Inc. Together with Dentsu Inc., Japan’s largest advertising agency, and NTT Advertising, Inc., we have also established D2 Communications Inc., which serves as an advertising agency for the i-mode platform.

 

During the year ended March 31, 2006, our i-mode alliance partners launched i-mode services in five countries: Cellcom Israel Ltd. in Israel and Mobile TelSystems OJSC in Russia in September 2005, O2 plc’s subsidiaries in United Kingdom, or UK, and Ireland in October 2005, and StarHub Ltd. in Singapore in November 2005. These launches increased the number of countries and regions offering i-mode services to 15, including Japan. From May 2005, eight i-mode operators started the first joint procurement tie-up for i-mode handsets with purchases of the Korean vendor LG Electronics’ L341i handset. The total number of i-mode subscribers outside Japan surpassed 6 million in December 2005 with and includes subscribers in Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Israel, Russia, UK, Ireland, and Singapore. In February 2006, we expanded our i-mode partnership with SMART Communications, Inc., a leading mobile operator in Philippines.

 

To cope with the issue of voluminous unsolicited bulk e-mails sent to our i-mode users, we have taken a number of measures since 1997. Among other measures, we have enabled users to block all mail sent to them from particular addresses, provided i-mode users (limited to mova users) with 400 packets per month (worth approximately ¥120 per month) of free packet-data communication, blocked e-mails sent to large numbers of invalid e-mail addresses, enabled users to restrict incoming e-mail to user-designated domains and offered new ringing tones which help to prevent receipt of unwanted calls from unknown numbers. In March 2002, we began to provide priority connection service for highly reliable data transmissions and in October 2003, we restricted the number of i-mode e-mails that can be transmitted from a single handset in a day to no more than 1,000 transmissions from the same phone per day. In December 2003, we upgraded our services for blocking spam from forged domains.

 

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On September 9, 2005, we began offering “i-channel” service to FOMA users subscribing to i-mode. Subscribers to i-channel service automatically receive updates covering news, weather, entertainment, sports, horoscopes and more, with the information delivered automatically to a handset’s standby screen.

 

Osaifu-Keitai (i-mode FeliCa) Services and Credit Card Business

 

In July 2004, we launched our Osaifu-Keitai (i-mode FeliCa) service on a commercial basis using the contactless ICs, to create new usage opportunities by linking our handsets with other business platforms such as electronic money, membership certificates and point programs, etc. “Osaifu-Keitai” refers to mobile phones equipped with a contactless IC chip, as well as useful functions and services enabled by the IC chip. With these functions, a mobile phone can be utilized as an electronic wallet, a credit card, an electronic ticket, a membership card, and an airline ticket, among other things.

 

The total user base of Osaifu-Keitai handsets compatible with i-mode FeliCa topped 10 million subscribers in January 2006, and reached approximately 11.8 million as of the end of March 2006. The number of shops providing this service has increased steadily, reaching 71,000 as of April 1, 2006. Among the services available with the Osaifu-Keitai, we believe that the “Mobile Suica” service, which incorporates the “Suica” electronic commuter pass service which East Japan Railway Corporation launched in January 2006 into our Osaifu-Keitai phones, is a service that, as an integral part of our customers’ lifestyles, will promote customer use of the Osaifu-Keitai services. In addition, we have expanded the number of outlets where Osaifu-Keitai service is provided by shouldering the initial costs required for the installation of Osaifu-Keitai reader/writer machines at merchants, and thereby created a mechanism which allows us to recoup the investments by collecting commission fees based on the number of transactions.

 

In September 2005, we began providing “ToruCa”, an additional function of the Osaifu-Keitai. The “ToruCa” function enables a user to download promotional coupons and store information onto a mobile phone, simply by waving an Osaifu-Keitai enabled handset in front of a dedicated reader/writer machine at merchants.

 

On April 27, 2005, DoCoMo, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) jointly announced that we agreed to form a strategic, business and capital alliance for the launch of a credit-payment service using DoCoMo Osaifu-Keitai phones equipped with smart-card functions for cashless payments. As part of the tie-up, we acquired 34% of Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s common shares for approximately ¥98.7 billion, including new shares to be issued by Sumitomo Mitsui Card, the pioneer in the issuance of the Visa Card in Japan and a leader in the domestic credit card industry.

 

On December 1, 2005, we launched our new iD credit card brand that enables users to make credit card payments using the Osaifu-Keitai service.

 

The iD credit card brand is a payment platform enabling speedy, signatureless credit card payment; a user simply waves the Osaifu-Keitai enabled handset in front of a dedicated reader/writer when paying at a store. It can be used for both small and large purchases, and has a variety of features to prevent unauthorized use, so owners can use the iD credit card securely and with peace of mind. We are providing the iD brand as an open model to credit card issuers, who can offer card members credit services combining conventional plastic cards and use of iD with the Osaifu-Keitai.

 

On March 6, 2006, we announced an alliance with the credit card companies Credit Saison Co., Ltd., and UC Card Co., Ltd., and with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., whose client base is centered on individual retail customers. Following the announcement of this alliance, we acquired Mizuho’s stake in UC Card, which was approximately 18% of UC Card’s outstanding shares. We intend to continue providing iD to credit card issuers as an open model.

 

Our aim for iD is to expand the range of situations in which the Osaifu-Keitai is used, and our goal is for mobile handsets to become “Seikatsu Keitai”, that is, even more fully integrated into the daily lives of our

 

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subscribers. In April 2006, we introduced “DCMX”, a service using iD and for which we are the credit issuer. “DCMX” is a credit service that can be used for small purchases, and we have prepared a service menu that includes “DCMX mini” and “DCMX”, and thus offer credit card services tailored to our customers’ lifestyles. By developing these credit card businesses, we aim to expand demand in Japan for credit services, and, as we do so, to capture a portion of this market, leading to growth in our corporate value.

 

Cellular Subscribers

 

Our number of subscribers including mova and FOMA subscribers has grew by approximately 2.32 million in the most recent fiscal year to approximately 51.14 million as of March 31, 2006, which represents a market share of 55.7%, a 0.4 points decrease from the end of the previous fiscal year. We believe that our cellular subscriber growth has been attributable primarily to (i) nationwide growth and popularity of cellular services, (ii) the liberalization of the handset market and significant declines in handset prices and improved technology which have resulted in advanced, light-weight handsets, (iii) the expansion and enhancement of our networks, (iv) significant declines in tariffs and our competitive pricing, (v) our reputation for quality products and services and (vi) the introduction of new, value-added cellular services such as i-mode.

 

As a result of favorable sales for FOMA handsets, such as the 902i series handsets, available since November 2005, and the 701i series handsets and 702i series handsets, available since September 2005 and February 2006 respectively, FOMA subscribers as of March 31, 2006 totaled approximately 23.46 million, a dramatic increase from the approximately 11.5 million as of March 31, 2005. Monthly minutes of use (MOU) per FOMA subscriber for the year ended March 31, 2006, totaled 202 minutes.

 

Subscriber growth for i-mode services over the past five years has been 24.7 million. The DoCoMo cellular subscriber numbers, including i-mode subscriber numbers, for the years ended March 31, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are as follows:

 

     Year ended March 31,

     2003

   2004

   2005

   2006

     (in thousands)

DoCoMo cellular subscribers

   44,149    46,328    48,825    51,144

mova subscribers

   43,819    43,283    37,324    27,680

FOMA subscribers

   330    3,045    11,501    23,463

i-mode subscribers

   37,758    41,077    44,021    46,360

i-mode subscribers(mova)

   37,456    38,080    32,667    23,446

i-mode subscribers(FOMA)

   303    2,997    11,353    22,914

DoCoMo estimated market share of total subscribers

   58.1%    56.6%    56.1%    55.7%

DoCoMo subscriber growth rate

   7.7%    4.9%    5.4%    4.7%

DoCoMo average monthly churn rate(1)

   1.23%    1.21%    1.01%    0.77%

(1) In general, the term “churn rate” is defined as the level of customers who disconnect their service relative to the total subscriber base. Our measurement of churn rates includes voluntary terminations in connection with handset upgrades or changes. The average monthly churn rate for each fiscal year is calculated by adding the number of cellular subscriber contract terminations in each month of that fiscal year and dividing that number by sum of the active cellular subscribers* from April to March.

 

  * active cellular subscribers = (No. of subscribers at the end of previous month + No. of subscriber at the end of current month) / 2

 

Beginning with the annual report for the year ended March 31, 2004, we changed the method by which we calculate our churn rate. In previous reports, we calculated our average monthly churn rate by adding the number of cellular subscriber contract terminations in each month of that fiscal year and dividing that number by the sum of the total number of cellular subscribers at the end of each month in the twelve-month period beginning with the last month of the preceding fiscal year.

 

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The number of cellular subscribers for the year ended March 31, 2006 includes Communications Module Service subscribers. These subscribers were included in the number of cellular subscribers beginning with the results for the six months ended September 30, 2004 in order to conform the definition of subscribers with that of other mobile operators in Japan. Relevant items in the full-year results for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2002 through 2004 have been modified by adding Communications Module Service Subscribers to the previously announced numbers.

 

Revenues and Tariffs for Cellular Services

 

Our cellular revenues are generated primarily from fixed monthly plan charges, usage charges for outgoing calls, revenues from incoming calls and charges for optional value-added services and features. We set our own rates in accordance with the Telecommunications Business Law and government guidelines, which currently allow wireless telecommunications operators to set their own tariffs without government approval.

 

Over the past few years, as the competition for subscribers has increased, tariff rates and monthly charges have been significantly reduced with certain other fees eliminated entirely. Currently, our cellular subscribers pay (i) an activation fee of ¥3,000, (ii) a fixed monthly plan charge based upon the “plan” chosen, (iii) usage or per call charges which vary according to duration and the particular plan chosen and (iv) additional monthly service fees for miscellaneous value-added services.

 

One of our basic strategies has been to focus on offering subscribers usage plans and discount services tailored to their usage patterns. As a result, we offer a variety of different monthly plans targeted at different segments of the market. These plans include basic usage plans for ordinary usage and heavy usage plans. In addition, almost all plans include a certain amount of prepaid usage (i.e., free minutes) per month for fixed rates. Prepaid amounts can be credited against telephone calls, packet transmissions, Push Talk, video phone, SMS, short mail, and international communications. Prepaid amounts are first allocated to voice minutes. To the extent that voice minutes do not exhaust the prepaid amount, it is then credited against i-mode use. Additionally, we offer various discounts, including discounts for families, long-term subscriber discounts and heavy-volume user discounts. The prepaid usage amount will not change even after the discounts are applied to monthly charges. We also provide “Charge Notice Service” which sends a notice via i-mode mail, mopera mail or Internet mail (choose up to two) when the total amount of charges of the month has exceeded the amount subscribers have set in advance (¥10,000 or over, in ¥5,000 increments).

 

Charges for 64 kbps circuit switched data service, such as for FOMA video phones, are approximately 1.8 times that of standard voice charges. The fee structure for FOMA packet transmission services is based on the volume of data transmitted and varies between from ¥0.015 per packet to ¥0.2 per packet, depending on which plan users choose. Charges for mova packet transmission are ¥0.3 per packet.

 

In November 2003, we commenced a new billing service that automatically carries over any unused prepaid amounts for up to two months. The rollover plan, called “Nikagetsu Kurikoshi”, applies to all mova and FOMA subscribers, including those using other discount services.

 

Our Family Discount service offers discount rates for fixed monthly charges and communication charges between family members of 25% and 30%, respectively.

 

Effective February 2005, the benefits of our “Nikagetsu Kurikoshi” and Family Discount services were combined, giving family members access to one another’s unused portions of monthly data and voice allowances. This applies to all mova and FOMA subscribers.

 

On November 1, 2005, we revised the billing plans for FOMA and mova voice services, making them easier for subscribers to understand. Under these new plans, the charges for FOMA and mova services was made uniform, “call charge classifications” were eliminated, and the unit for call charges was set at a uniform 30

 

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seconds. Previous billing plans were complicated, as charges were different for FOMA and mova services and “call charge classifications” were used, under which charges were different depending on the time of the call, the type of phone the other party was using, and the distance between caller and receiver.

 

In addition, when a customer uses the new “Ichinen Discount” billing plan, beginning with the second year, the discount rate on basic monthly usage fees increases according to the number of years the subscription has been valid, gradually increasing to a 25% discount after 10 years.

 

On December 1, 2005, we introduced the “Fami-Wari Wide” discount plan targeting children junior high school age or younger, seniors aged 60 or older and “Hearty” discount subscribers, which combine with the Family Discounts to provide even greater savings. On March 1, 2006, we introduced “Fami-Wari Wide Limit”, under which subscribers can set a limit for amount of out-going use.

 

We believe that our variety of easy-to-understand plans, prices and discounts has helped us remain competitive in retaining existing subscribers and attracting new subscribers.

 

i-mode Revenues and Fees

 

i-mode users are charged according to the volume of data they transmit and not for the length of time they are online or the distance over which the data are transmitted. The monthly i-mode usage fee for FOMA users is ¥200 per month. The basic charge for one packet (128 bytes) of i-mode packet transmission varies according to the packet billing plan selected by the user, but is priced between ¥0.015 and ¥0.2 per packet. The basic charge for mova users to send data transmissions is equal to ¥0.3 per packet (128 bytes). Therefore, a short e-mail of about 20 full characters can be sent for as little as ¥1 and a longer e-mail of 250 full characters would be approximately ¥4. Passengers can check airline seat availability for as little as ¥50. For new Java-related services, users are charged according to the size of the application to download various applications such as games, stock charts, maps and cartoons. mova i-mode users pay us a ¥200 per month i-mode usage charge in addition to the standard monthly charge for voice services.

 

There are also additional information charges payable to content providers when subscribers use certain i-mode sites. For example, access to Nikkei News service costs ¥300 per month and access to Tenki Plus, which provides weather information, costs ¥100 per month. We bill subscribers for content provider fees, and receive from the providers a commission of the information charges for our billing and collection services.

 

In June 2004, we introduced a new flat rate packet transmission service called “pake-hodai”, which offers unlimited access to i-mode Internet service and i-mode mail for a flat monthly charge of ¥3,900, for users of our FOMA i-mode service. At the start of this service, only subscribers of some high-call plans were eligible to subscribe to the plan, however we began offering “pake-hodai” with all new FOMA (voice) billing plans on March 1, 2006.

 

By introducing this plan, we added value for our users and expanded use of miscellaneous i-mode contents by freeing customers from concerns about their monthly bill. The number of “pake-hodai” subscribers as of March 31, 2006 totaled approximately 5.6 million. Also, the charges for packet transmissions other than i-mode communications (such as browsing the web via devices connected to a 3G handset) on the “pake-hodai” plan have been set at ¥0.02/packet.

 

We provide another FOMA discount service called “Packet Pack”. Communications charges per packet are less with Packet Packs and the monthly charge serves as subscribers’ communications allowance. With the combination of Packet Pack and a FOMA billing plan, subscribers can save on packet transmission costs. In May 2004, we also revised the charges for Packet Packs. We added a new Packet Pack plan in April 2005, and there are now four Packet Pack plans, enabling customers to choose the plan best suited to their i-mode or other packet transmission usage.

 

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Cellular System Usage

 

We track subscriber usage of our cellular services with two measures, average MOU, and average monthly revenue per unit (ARPU). MOU measures the average amount of connection time per month per unit among our subscribers. ARPU is used to measure average monthly operating revenues attributable to designated services on a per unit basis. ARPU is calculated by dividing various revenue items included in operating revenues from our wireless services, such as monthly charges, voice communication charges and packet communication charges from designated services that are charged consistently each month, by the number of active subscribers to the relevant services. Accordingly, the calculation of ARPU excludes revenues that are not representative of monthly average usage such as activation fees. We believe that our ARPU figures provide useful information to analyze the trend of monthly average usage of our subscribers over time and the impacts of changes in our billing arrangements. The revenue items included in the numerators of our ARPU figures are based on our U.S. GAAP results of operations. Additional discussions of MOU and ARPU are included in Item 5.A. of this annual report.

 

MOU (FOMA+mova) decreased to 149 minutes per month for the year ended March 31, 2006 from 151 minutes in the prior fiscal year. ARPU (FOMA+mova) decreased to ¥6,910 in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥7,200 in the prior fiscal year.

 

The primary reason that aggregate ARPU (FOMA+mova) decreased in the year ended March 31, 2006 from the prior fiscal year was the increase in the discount rate of “Family Discount” and “Ichinen Discount”, and the increase in the number of FOMA billing plans that can be combined with “pake-hodai”, our flat-rate packet billing plan for i-mode usage. The shrinking trend of ARPU also resulted from further penetration of cellular phones into lower usage subscriber segments and a large number of subscribers using i-mode services instead of voice calls.

 

The following tables set forth selected information concerning MOU and ARPU data for our wireless services in three categories, (FOMA + mova), (FOMA) and (mova):(1)

 

MOU and APRU (FOMA + mova)

 

     Year ended March 31

     2004

   2005

   2006

MOU (FOMA+mova)

     159      151      149
    

  

  

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA+mova)

   ¥ 7,890    ¥ 7,200    ¥ 6,910

Voice ARPU (FOMA+mova)

     5,920      5,330      5,030

Packet ARPU (FOMA+mova)

     1,970      1,870      1,880

i-mode ARPU (FOMA+mova)

     1,970      1,870      1,870

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA+mova): Voice ARPU (FOMA+mova) + Packet ARPU (FOMA+mova)

Voice ARPU (FOMA+mova) : Voice ARPU (FOMA+mova) Related Revenues (monthly charges, voice transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA+mova)

Packet ARPU (FOMA+mova) : {Packet ARPU (FOMA) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges)+ i-mode ARPU (mova) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges)}/ No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA+mova)

i-mode ARPU (FOMA+mova)(2) : i-mode ARPU (FOMA+mova) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA+mova)

 

No. of active subscribers used in ARPU/MOU calculations are as follows:

FY Results : Sum of No. of subscribers* for each month from April to March

*subscribers = (No. of subscribers at the end of previous month + No. of subscriber at the end of current month) / 2

 

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MOU and ARPU (FOMA)

 

     Year ended March 31

     2004

   2005

   2006

MOU (FOMA)

     219      229      202
    

  

  

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA)

   ¥ 10,280    ¥ 9,650    ¥ 8,700

Voice ARPU (FOMA)

     6,900      6,380      5,680

Packet ARPU (FOMA)

     3,380      3,270      3,020

i-mode ARPU (FOMA)

     3,240      3,220      2,980

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA) : Voice ARPU (FOMA) + Packet ARPU (FOMA)

Voice ARPU (FOMA): Voice ARPU (FOMA) Related Revenues (monthly charges, voice transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA)

Packet ARPU (FOMA): Packet ARPU (FOMA) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA)

i-mode ARPU (FOMA)(2) : i-mode ARPU (FOMA) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (FOMA)

 

No. of active subscribers used in ARPU/MOU calculations are as follows:

FY Results : Sum of No. of subscribers* for each month from April to March

* subscribers = (No. of subscribers at the end of previous month + No. of subscriber at the end of current month) / 2

 

MOU and ARPU (mova)

 

     Year ended March 31

     2004

   2005

   2006

MOU (mova)

     158      138      122
    

  

  

Aggregate ARPU (mova)

   ¥ 7,830    ¥ 6,800    ¥ 5,970

Voice ARPU (mova)

     5,890      5,160      4,680

i-mode ARPU (mova)

     1,940      1,640      1,290

Aggregate ARPU (mova) : Voice ARPU (mova) + i-mode ARPU (mova)

Voice ARPU (mova) : Voice ARPU (mova) Related Revenues (monthly charges, voice transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (mova)

i-mode ARPU (mova)(2) : i-mode ARPU (mova) Related Revenues (monthly charges, packet transmission charges) / No. of active cellular phone subscribers (mova)

 

No. of active subscribers used in ARPU/MOU calculations are as follows: FY Results : Sum of the number of subscribers* for each month from April to March

* subscribers = (number of subscribers at the end of previous month + number of subscriber at the end of current month) / 2


(1) Communications module service subscribers and the revenues thereof are not included in the ARPU and MOU calculations.
(2) The denominator used in calculating i-mode ARPU (FOMA+mova, FOMA, mova) is the aggregate number of cellular subscribers to each service (FOMA+mova, FOMA, mova, respectively), regardless of whether i-mode service is activated or not.

 

  * International service-related revenues are included in the ARPU data calculation from the results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, due to their growing contribution to the total cellular revenues.

 

[Notes associated with the above-mentioned change]

 

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  - International service-related ARPU included in the ARPU results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 is as follows:

 

     Year ended March 31

     2006

Aggregate ARPU(FOMA+mova)

   ¥ 40

Aggregate ARPU(FOMA)

     70

Aggregate ARPU(mova)

     30

 

  - ARPU data for the terms prior to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, do not include international service-related revenues. ARPU generated from international services, based on revenues in international services for the relevant periods, are as follows:

 

     Year ended March 31

     2004

   2005

Aggregate ARPU(FOMA+mova)

   ¥ 20    ¥ 20

 

PHS Services

 

Our Personal Handyphone System, or PHS, services are wireless voice and data transmission services similar to our cellular services but offered using different technology and a different network. PHS is a digital cordless phone system that operates on a digitalized microcell network that makes it possible to use a PHS phone outside the home or office. The PHS base stations are small and easy to install. As a result, PHS services can easily be provided in buildings and underground passages. However, in fast moving automobiles or trains our PHS users do not enjoy the same reception quality as our cellular phone users do. PHS handsets look like cellular handsets, but with the exception of dual mode handsets that function on both the cellular and PHS networks, PHS handsets cannot utilize the cellular network. We offer PHS services to our subscribers on our PHS network. PHS was originally introduced by the NTT Personal Group in July 1995.

 

We took over the operations of these PHS services beginning on December 1998. Since that time, we had implemented a variety of strategies to improve the performance of our PHS business, however in response to anticipated steady declines in the number of PHS subscribers, we stopped accepting new applications for PHS services as of April 30, 2005. Since that time, we have been offering existing PHS subscribers inducements to transfer to FOMA. On January 2006, we announced plans to terminate PHS services by the third quarter of the year ending March 31, 2008.

 

PHS Subscribers

 

At the end of the year ended March 31, 1996, the NTT Personal Group had approximately 0.38 million subscribers. Initially, with the rapid expansion of service areas and the introduction of inexpensive handsets and billing rates, the number of NTT Personal Group PHS subscribers reached approximately 2.12 million in September 1997. From September 1997 to March 31, 2000, PHS subscribers declined to approximately 1.35 million. PHS subscribers increased to approximately 1.92 million as of March 31, 2002, but fell to approximately 1.69 million as of March 31, 2003, 1.59 million as of March 31, 2004, 1.31 million as of March 31, 2005 and 0.77 million as of March 31, 2006.

 

Other Mobile Multimedia Services

 

We have focused extensively on our initiative to develop the mobile multimedia and data communications markets. As part of these efforts, we have been offering a wide variety of data services such as packet transmission at speeds up to 28.8 Kbps for i-mode and DoPa services, 64K data service on the PHS platform and data communications at speeds up to 384 Kbps on FOMA. Our client authentication service ensures a highly secure individual authentication to suit a variety of users of the mobile Internet.

 

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DoPa, our packet transmission service, is a driving force behind our strategy of broadening the scope of mobile communications. DoPa is used mainly in person-to-machine and machine-to-machine communications. Fees are charged according to the volume of data transmitted and received. DoPa makes the direct exchange of data possible between terminals in a wireless environment and between a terminal and an office LAN via a dedicated lease line or an ISDN connection. DoPa helps boost network efficiency and lower communication costs because it does not require an exclusive radio channel for each user. DoPa is compatible with Internet protocols such as TCP/IP and enables remote LAN and e-mail access.

 

As part of our endeavor to promote mobile multimedia services, we began sales of the DoPa Ubiquitous Module in July 2004 and the FOMA Ubiquitous Module in December 2005 to increase machine to machine traffic. By embedding these modules, we expect a broad range of uses such as an efficient automobile fleet management system, a wireless credit card transaction system, and a system which enables a vending machine to automatically detect and notify the amount of its inventory to a service center.

 

We provide Business mopera Access Series services to corporate customers, to enable them to link with office information systems from outside the workplace. Business mopera Access Pro provides extremely high-security access to corporate LANs from remote terminals such as notebook PCs and PDAs via closed networks. This service makes it possible under a contract for a single dedicated line to gain access to office information systems via a variety of wireless networks including mova, DoPa, and FOMA. In addition, we made access via i-mode possible starting in April 2005 and began offering to FOMA users packet connection services from overseas to FOMA users. In December 2004, we also launched the Business mopera Access Simple, which provide access to corporate LANs via i-mode terminals. With this service, by setting up a relay server on a LAN and installing software provided by DoCoMo, users can send and receive e-mail and view their calendars from i-mode terminals and PDAs. Customers can choose from a variety of tariffs depending on the volume of use and the cost.

 

In June 2005, we started “mopera U” service, which enables FOMA customers to access the Internet from public wireless LAN service areas, from overseas (using international roaming connections) and from fixed-line broadband circuits at home. “mopera U” service provides users with diversified access options as well as enhanced security features such as web compression and packet filtering and supports automatic receipt of POP mail by the FOMA M1000 handset, a PDA type of FOMA terminal that was introduced in July 2005, as well as other unique features suited for mobile environments, in order to respond to users’ diversified needs for the Internet and other data communications services and seamless network access.

 

Going forward, in light of the introduction of Mobile Number Portability on November 1, 2006, we are going to provide and expand a wide range of high-quality services that enable users to access the Internet in a secure and seamless way at reasonable prices, meeting users’ needs for mobile data services in the age of ubiquitous communications.

 

We launched a public wireless LAN service called “Mzone” in July 2002, and started offering “Public Wireless LAN course” as an optional service of “mopera U” in June 2005. Customers in a service area are able to send and receive data at high-speed using their notebook PCs or PDAs. We established NTT Broadband Platform, Inc. in July 2005 jointly with NTT EAST CORPORATION (“NTT East”) and NTT WEST CORPORATION (“NTT West”) to efficiently and economically build wireless LAN networks. NTT Communication joined NTT-BP in March 2006. There were 1,057 Mzone service areas as of the end of March 2006, and we plan to further expand the coverage in the future according to the needs of our customers. Furthermore, we have proactively expanded wireless LAN coverage to overseas through global roaming arrangements to provide enhanced convenience to users. We have wireless LAN roaming arrangements with iPass, Connexion by Boeing, TeliaSonera, SingTel and Deutsche Telekom. For a discussion of our relationship with NTT group companies, please see “Relationship with NTT” in this Item 4.B.

 

As use of the mobile Internet spreads rapidly, high-level security in user authentication has become increasingly important. In order to address this, we introduced a client authentication service called “First Pass” in July 2003, enabling FOMA users to reduce the risk of identity theft and safely use the mobile Internet.

 

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Other Business Activities

 

Investments and Affiliations in Japan

 

Tower Records

 

In November 2005, we entered into an agreement with Tower Records Japan Inc. to form a capital alliance with the objective of creating a business tie-up. Tower Records aims to introduce a new credit payment service using Osaifu Keitai. We acquired approximately 42% of Tower Records’ common stock through subscription to new shares and other means at a total cost of approximately ¥12.8 billion.

 

Rakuten Auction

 

In October 2005, we entered into an agreement with Rakuten Inc. (“Rakuten”), a leading Japanese e-commerce company, to form a business and capital alliance to provide Internet auction services over mobile phones and PCs, enabling Rakuten to expand its auction business through mobile Internet phones while enabling us to diversify our revenue streams through a service not tied to communications traffic.

 

Under the agreement, Rakuten spun off a part of its Internet auction business and established a new company, Rakuten Auction, Inc. (“Rakuten Auction”), in December 2005. We acquired total of 40% of the common stock of Rakuten Auction for approximately ¥4.2 billion through a third-party allotment of Rakuten Auction’s shares and a transfer of Rakuten Auction’s shares from Rakuten.

 

Fuji Television

 

In January 2006, we acquired 77,000 shares of Fuji Television Network, Inc. (“Fuji Television”), or approximately 2.6% of the total issued shares of Fuji Television, for approximately ¥20.7 billion, in an effort to link mobile communications and broadcasting related with the launch of “One Seg”, one-segment terrestrial digital broadcasting that commenced on April 1, 2006.

 

Nippon Television

 

In February 2006, we entered into an agreement with Nippon Television Network Corporation (“NTV”) on a business tie-up for contents development. Pursuant to the agreement, we formed a seven-year limited liability partnership, D.N. dream partners LLP, on April 3, 2006, with each party providing ¥5 billion in capital. The partnership is to invest in and develop contents such as TV programs viewable on mobile phones.

 

We are also jointly studying new business opportunities, including one-segment terrestrial digital broadcasting and i-mode service as well as content developed by NTV for our conventional services such as V-Live video streaming and i-motion video clip distribution services. We plan to hold NTV entertainment events with special activities for users of “Osaifu Keitai” phones equipped with IC chips.

 

Sumitomo Mitsui Card

 

On April 27, 2005, we entered into an agreement with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. (“Sumitomo Mitsui Card”) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”) to form a strategic business and capital alliance for the launch of a credit-payment service using our Osaifu Keitai phones equipped with smart-card functions for cashless payments. As part of the tie-up, we acquired 34% of the common shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Card for approximately ¥98.7 billion, including shares newly issued by Sumitomo Mitsui Card.

 

UC Card

 

In March 2006, we entered into a comprehensive agreement with UC Card Co., Ltd. (“UC Card”) and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (“Mizuho Bank”), to promote our iD brand card business. Under the agreement, Mizuho

 

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Bank transferred its 18% stake in UC Card to us for approximately ¥1 billion. While UC Card is to expand acceptance of our iD brand at its networked participating stores, Mizuho Bank, in cooperation with Credit Saison, is to provide iD services to members of its Mizuho Mileage Club (“MMC”) Card, enabling MMC members to make credit card payments by using our iD service through their mobile phones.

 

LAWSON

 

In March 2006, we reached agreement with LAWSON, Inc. to form a business tie-up through capital participation in LAWSON by DoCoMo, with the intention of providing greater convenience to customers. Through the tie-up, DoCoMo and LAWSON will make use of their respective customer bases and expertise in the mobile communications and convenience store businesses to contribute to enriching the lives of customers by providing new added value services. Under the tie-up, LAWSON will introduce iD credit card payment services and ToruCa information provisions services at all LAWSON stores.

 

Pursuant to this capital alliance, in April 2006 we acquired 2,092,000 shares of LAWSON, which corresponds to 2% of total issued shares, for approximately ¥9 billion.

 

CA MOBILE

 

In March 2006, we concluded an agreement with CA MOBILE, Ltd. to consider collaboration in the mobile advertising market, a rapidly expanding field, and for DoCoMo to acquire approximately 10% of CA MOBILE’s shares for ¥1.8 billion. CA MOBILE is a leading player in the mobile advertising industry and boasts considerable expertise as well as extensive contacts with advertisers. Under the tie-up, the two companies will investigate a wide range of cooperative business structures using their respective expertise and resources with the objective of creating synergistic effects and further developing the mobile advertising market as a whole.

 

ACCESS

 

In December 2005, we completed an acquisition of 6,356 newly allocated shares of ACCESS CO., LTD. (“ACCESS”), a developer of software for mobile phones, for approximately ¥15 billion, raising our share of ACCESS from 7.12% to 11.63%. ACCESS’s browser is widely used in our 3G FOMA handsets and we aim to further strengthen our relationship through this investment to support the development of browser technology.

 

Aplix

 

In December 2005, we completed a share acquisition of 15,000 newly allocated shares, or 14.98%, of Aplix Corporation (“Aplix”), a software company which develops middleware for mobile phones and PCs, for approximately ¥13 billion, raising our group’s total stake in Aplix to 17.91%. Our relationship with Aplix established in connection with the development of DoJa/Java platforms, which have made a number of Java products adaptable to our 3G FOMA handsets, and we aim to form further technical tie-ups in handset middleware centered on Java technology.

 

Quickcast Services (formerly called Paging Services)

 

We used to offer paging services under the service name Quickcast, but on June 30, 2004, we stopped accepting applications for new subscriptions, and on March 31, 2007, we will terminate the service. There were approximately 197,000 subscribers as of March 31, 2006.

 

Satellite Mobile Communications Services

 

We provide satellite mobile communications services integrated with terrestrial cellular services for communications in case of emergencies in mountainous areas and aboard ships. The service area covers the territory of Japan and its surrounding waters up to 200 nautical miles from the mainland. The satellite mobile

 

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communications network uses three N-STAR communications satellites, N-STARa, N-STARb and N-STARc. Satellite mobile communications services can be used for voice, fax, and packet transmission. We had approximately 37,000 subscribers to this service as of March 31, 2006. The service can be used for packet transmission (maximum 64 kbps downlink and 4.8 kbps uplink) and high-speed data communications, and a variety of communications services are offered including Internet connectivity and telemetering.

 

Global Businesses

 

International Dialing Services and International Roaming Services

 

In October 2003, we enabled 3G FOMA videophones to make international videophone calls and 64kbps transmissions to the UK using “WORLD CALL”, our international dialing service. As of March 31, 2006, FOMA subscribers were able to make international videophone calls via our 3G networks to 3G subscribers in 23 countries and regions, including the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. We also launched “WORLD WING”, an international roaming service for FOMA subscribers and added a new service called WORLD WALKER-PLUS, which has a geographical coverage similar to that of WORLD WING, to supplement WORLD WALKER for mova subscribers. By the addition of such new services, the accumulated number of users of our international roaming services during the fiscal year increased to approximately 1 million as of March 31, 2006, a 125% increase from the previous fiscal year.

 

As we introduced a handset capable of 3G and GSM in December 2004, WORLD WING subscribers are now able to make and receive calls from their regular FOMA phone number without changing handsets in 132 countries and regions as of March 31, 2006. We launched international packet roaming services in December 2004, enabling WORLD WING subscribers to access i-mode packet transmission in 69 countries and regions as of June 31, 2006. In February 2005, we launched international SMS for FOMA subscribers, and in July 2005 we started international MMS (multimedia messaging service). In addition, to enhance customer convenience, we established the DoCoMo World Counter, our first overseas service counter, in Hawaii.

 

International Investments and Licensing Agreements

 

We make investments in and/or enter into agreements with telecommunications companies overseas with the long term aim of securing growth and revenue opportunities and strengthening our international competitiveness. We plan to leverage our expertise and experience in the Japanese wireless telecommunications market abroad by assisting telecommunications operators in other countries in developing W-CDMA as their 3G platform, by promoting the wide-spread and rapid deployment of mobile multimedia services and by expanding the areas in which our subscribers can utilize roaming services, with the goal of establishing a borderless cellular phone world. Whereas wireless operators in other parts of the world have achieved only limited success in offering wireless Internet access, our i-mode services met with immediate success in Japan. We believe that our experience with the development and deployment of our i-mode services provides us with the ability and skills necessary to replicate our success in overseas markets in cooperation with our strategic partners. We have licensed the technology for our i-mode services to other mobile telecommunications providers in many parts of the world, primarily in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. We believe that this will increase the value of our business by generating returns on investments, enhancing service quality and strengthening our position in the domestic market. We believe that the increased utilization of international roaming services will lead to an important revenue source in the future. We intend to continue to look outside of Japan for attractive investment opportunities, such as mobile telecommunication companies and other companies providing related services. If we find such investment opportunities, we may make majority or minority investments or enter into licensing agreements or collaboration agreements in certain fields, such as W-CDMA-based 3G services.

 

Our invested affiliates operate in key markets and regions around the world. We do not believe, however, that the regulatory environments in which our partners operate will have any adverse effect on our investments or on our financial results.

 

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KPN Mobile N.V.

 

In July 2000, we signed a subscription agreement to invest €4 billion (approximately ¥407.3 billion at the date of the investment) for a 15% voting interest in KPN Mobile for the purpose of promoting mobile multimedia services and 3G services in Europe. In December 2002, we decided not to exercise our right to subscribe in new shares in accordance with our agreement. As a consequence, our voting interest in KPN Mobile decreased from 15% to approximately 2.2%, and many of our rights under the subscription agreement and the shareholders agreement terminated as a result.

 

In November 2001, we signed a license agreement with KPN Mobile and its parent company, Koninklijke KPN N.V.(“KPN”), under which we transferred and licensed technologies to KPN Mobile for the launch of i-mode services in the Netherlands and Belgium. In February 2002, we signed an agreement with E-Plus Mobilfunk, a subsidiary of KPN Mobile, to transfer and license technologies to E-Plus to offer i-mode services in Germany. KPN Mobile The Netherlands B.V. and E-Plus began offering i-mode services in the Netherlands and Germany in April 2002 and March 2002, respectively. BASE, formerly KPN Orange, began offering i-mode services on a commercial basis in Belgium in October 2002.

 

In October 2005, DoCoMo transferred its shares in KPN Mobile to KPN while continuing the licensing of its i-mode technology to KPN Mobile. Under the agreement, in connection with DoCoMo’s transfer of its KPN Mobile shares (approximately 2.2% of KPN Mobile’s outstanding shares), KPN agreed to cooperate with DoCoMo in the smooth operation of the global i-mode alliance, through the use of KPN’s i-mode-related patents and know-how, for example, and paid DoCoMo € 5 million (approximately ¥692 million at the date of the payment).

 

Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Limited

 

In July 2000, we agreed to invest £1.2 billion (approximately ¥184.6 billion at the date of the investment) in Hutchison 3G UK as part of a business alliance with Hutchison Whampoa Limited, or HWL. This capital tie-up with Hutchison 3G UK ended when we completed the sale of our entire 20% shareholding in Hutchison 3G UK and received £120 million (approximately ¥ 23.8 billion at the date of the sale) in cash on June 23, 2005.

 

We have no further financial commitments to Hutchison 3G UK.

 

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd.

 

In November 2000, we agreed to invest approximately NT$17.1 billion (approximately ¥61.3 billion at the date of investment) for a 20% equity stake in KG Telecommunications Co., Ltd., or KG Telecom. KG Telecom operates in Taiwan. Through this business alliance with KG Telecom, we aimed to provide sophisticated wireless broadband services to the Taiwanese market using W-CDMA technology and to provide mobile Internet services in Taiwan based on our i-mode technology and business model. In June 2001, we signed an i-mode license agreement with KG Telecom to license our intellectual property and technology know-how regarding i-mode services. KG Telecom launched i-mode services in June 2002.

 

In July 2001, we increased our equity stake in KG Telecom by purchasing 62,180,331 new shares, thereby increasing our equity stake to 21.4%. The amount of our additional investment was NT$1.87 billion (approximately ¥6.7 billion at the date of investment).

 

In October 2003, we agreed to a plan by KG Telecom to enter into a Share Purchase Agreement with Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd., or Far EasTone, a mobile operator in Taiwan. Under the agreement, each KG Telecom share was converted into 0.46332 Far EasTone shares plus NT$6.72. As a result, KG Telecom became a 100% subsidiary of Far EasTone. Upon completion of the transaction, we became an approximately 5.0% shareholder in Far EasTone, and received NT$2.5 billion (approximately ¥8.0 billion at the date of payment) in cash.

 

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At that time, we also concluded a memorandum of understanding with Far EasTone to collaborate on the W-CDMA 3G and i-mode businesses in Taiwan. This merger enabled us to secure a more solid base in Taiwan and has continued to increase economic value via further development of i-mode services and the 3G business. Far EasTone began i-mode service on the Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network in April 2004 and on a W-CDMA network in July 2005.

 

In March 2004, we signed a consulting agreement with Far EasTone. Under the agreement, we provided technical assistance including assistance for network field testing and coverage optimization for the introduction of Far EasTone’s W-CDMA 3G service. Far EasTone launched W-CDMA 3G services in July 2005.

 

Hutchison Telephone Company Limited/Hutchison 3G HK Holdings Limited

 

In December 1999, we agreed to acquire a 19% equity interest in HTCL in Hong Kong for approximately US$410 million (approximately ¥42 billion at the date of investment) as part of our business alliance with HWL with respect to the development of their mobile Internet services and 3G businesses in Hong Kong. In May 2001, we invested an additional US$30.44 million (approximately ¥3.7 billion at the date of investment) for an additional 6.4% equity interest in HTCL.

 

In July 2001, we agreed with HWL to separate the 3G entity from HTCL, and acquired a 25.4% equity interest in Hutchison 3G HK Holdings Limited, or Hutchison 3G HK, for approximately HK$303,190 (approximately ¥5 million at the date of investment).

 

In November 2002, NEC Corporation, NEC acquired a 5% equity interest in both HTCL and Hutchison 3G HK. As part of this transaction, our interest in both HTCL and Hutchison 3G HK decreased from 25.4% to 24.1%. We currently hold a 24.1% equity interest in both HTCL and Hutchison 3G HK.

 

HTCL launched its mobile Internet services in May 2000. In addition, Hutchison 3G HK acquired a 3G license in September 2001 and launched 3G services in January 2004. The 3G license was transferred to HTCL in June 2005 and 3G services are provided by HTCL at present. In June 2006, we signed an i-mode license agreement with HTCL to form a strategic partnership under which Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong will launch i-mode services in Hong Kong and Macau by the end of 2006. Under the license agreement, DoCoMo will provide the technology, know-how and marketing expertise to the partnership. In addition, we also agreed to jointly consider the application of contactless IC card technology services, widely known as wallet-phone in Japan on i-mode enabled handsets in Hong Kong and Macau.

 

Bouygues Telecom S.A.

 

In April 2002, we signed an i-mode license agreement with Bouygues Telecom S.A. to license our intellectual property and provide consulting services related to i-mode for the launch of i-mode services in France, French Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion. Under this licensing agreement, we have agreed to provide Bouygues Telecom with patents, know-how, and trade marks needed to launch i-mode service and Bouygues Telecom began i-mode service in November 2002 in France on GPRS and extended to the Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) as the i-mode Haut Debit in October 2005.

 

Telefónica Móviles S.A. and Telefónica Móviles España S.A.

 

In June 2003, Telefónica Móviles España S.A. introduced i-mode to the Spanish market. This was following the i-mode license agreement we signed with Telefónica Móviles S.A. and Telefónica Móviles España S.A. in July 2002 to license our intellectual property and provide consulting services regarding i-mode services for the launch of i-mode services in Spain. Under this licensing agreement, we agreed to provide patents, know-how and technologies needed by Telefónica Móviles España S.A. to offer i-mode service in Spain under its conventional mobile Internet service, “e-moción”, on its Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and W-CDMA networks.

 

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Separate from the i-mode licensing agreement, we also signed a joint collaboration agreement on mobile telecommunication technology and services, in which we will share GPRS/SIM card technologies and know- how, as well as opinions on handset evolution towards 3G based on W-CDMA, mainly through personnel exchanges, and also jointly study the possibility of implementing international roaming services.

 

Wind Telecommunicazioni S.p.A.

 

Wind Telecommunicazioni S.p.A., an Italian telecommunications operator, introduced i-mode service to the Italian market in November 2003. This followed our June 2003 i-mode license agreement, to license our intellectual property and provide consulting services regarding i-mode services to enable Wind Telecommunicazioni to offer i-mode services on its Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and later on its 3G W-CDMA network.

 

COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications S.A.

 

In November 2003, we signed an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications S.A., the leading mobile operator in Greece, which launched i-mode service on GPRS in June 2004, prior to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and launched 3G i-mode service on the W-CDMA network in June 2005.

 

Telstra Corporation Limited

 

We signed an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with Telstra Corporation Limited, the leading telecommunications operator in Australia in June 2004. Telstra launched its i-mode service in November 2004, and launched 3G i-mode service on the W-CDMA network in September 2005.

 

Cellcom Israel Ltd.

 

In November 2004, DoCoMo and Cellcom Israel Ltd., the leading telecommunications operator in Israel, formed an exclusive strategic partnership. Cellcom launched i-mode service in Israel in September 2005.

 

O2 plc.

 

In November 2004, DoCoMo and O2 plc., the leading European mobile operator, formed a long-term strategic agreement, and O2 launched i-mode service over O2’s W-CDMA and GPRS networks in the UK and Irish markets in October 2005.

 

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC

 

In December 2004, DoCoMo and Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS”), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, formed an exclusive strategic partnership and MTS launched i-mode service over MTS’s GPRS networks in the Russian market in September 2005.

 

StarHub Ltd.

 

In January 2005, DoCoMo and StarHub Ltd., an integrated info-communications provider based in Singapore, jointly announced a strategic partnership and StarHub launched i-mode service over StarHub’s W-CDMA and GPRS networks in Singapore in November 2005.

 

Mobile Innovation Co., Ltd.

 

In April 2004, we signed a joint venture and share subscription agreement with Loxley Public Company Limited, or Loxley, under which we acquired a 40% equity stake in Mobile Innovation Co., Ltd., or MI, a

 

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location–based service provider, wholly owned by Loxley, for a cash consideration of 21.6 million baht (approximately ¥60 million at the date of investment). In February 2005, we agreed to increase the capital of MI, and invested 12 million baht (approximately ¥30 million at the date of investment). Loxley concurrently invested 18 million baht (approximately ¥50 million at the date of our investment) in MI. We still hold a 40% equity interest in MI.

 

inter-touch (BVI) Limited

 

In December 2004, the company made a 100% acquisition of inter-touch (BVI) Limited, a Singapore-based holding company of internet providers who supply high-speed broadband connections and applications for business travelers at hotels across Asia-Pacific and Europe etc. The total purchase price was US $70 million (approximately ¥7.3 billion at the date of investment). We have increased the capital of inter-touch (BVI) Limited and the total amount of our investments is US$86million (approximately ¥9.1 billion at the date of investment). inter-touch group companies offer wired/wireless broadband services at 266 hotels (a total of about 89,300 rooms) in 35 countries as of April 30, 2006 worldwide.

 

ADVANCED MPAY COMPANY LIMITED

 

We acquired a 30% stake of ADVANCED MPAY COMPANY LIMITED, or mPAY, for 315 million baht (approximately ¥850 million at the date of investment) in August 2005. mPAY was established with Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited, or AIS, which owns 70% stake of mPAY

 

mPay provides mobile payment services in Thailand, enabling customers to use their mobile phones to settle shopping transactions, including online shopping via PCs and mobile phones, pay utility bills and more.

 

Telargo Inc.

 

In June 2005, we signed a joint venture and share subscription agreement with ULTRA d.o.o., a Slovenia-based European technology company. Under the agreement, we acquired a 49% equity stake in Telargo Inc., ULTRA’s wholly-owned US mobile assets management service provider, for US $28.6 million (approximately ¥3.1 billion at the date of investment).

 

Telargo’s service is based on a mobile asset management platform providing a wide range of companies with a comprehensive fleet and workforce management tools to streamline and optimize their businesses.

 

KT Freetel Co., Ltd.

 

In December 2005, we entered an agreement with Korean mobile communications provider KT Freetel Co., Ltd. or KTF on a comprehensive strategic alliance including equity participation, under which we invested KRW 564.9 billion (approximately ¥65.1 billion at the date of investment) to acquire a 10% stake in KTF through a third-party allotment of new shares and purchase of KTF treasury stock.

 

The alliance aims to improve convenience and user friendliness for the increasing number of travelers in both countries through the joint development and offering of roaming services, to seek new business opportunities by fusing together the technical and marketing expertise of the worlds leading providers of mobile services and to examine cost-saving opportunities, such as the standardization of the specifications of common equipment, and to ensure that KTF successfully deploys a nationwide W-CDMA network through the combination of our expertise in W-CDMA network operation and KTF’s service development capabilities.

 

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company

 

In January 2006, we entered into an agreement with NTT Communications Corporation or NTT Com, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, or PLDT, and First Pacific Company Limited, PLDT’s largest

 

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shareholder, on a share acquisition and business tie-up. Under the agreement, we purchased 12,633,486 shares of PLDT, which represent approximately 7% of its total common shares, from NTT Com, for approximately ¥52.2 billion and established a comprehensive business tie-up with PLDT, including the launch of our i-mode service in the Philippines.

 

As part of the tie-up, we will support PLDT and SMART Communications, Inc., or SMART in introducing i-mode and W-CDMA services and promoting international roaming between Japan and the Philippines. In February 2006, we concluded an i-mode license agreement with SMART. In addition, we have appointed one director each to the boards of PLDT and SMART and may consider increasing our investment in PLDT if a suitable opportunity arises.

 

Guam Cellular and Guam Wireless

 

In March 2006, we agreed to acquire Guam Cellular & Paging, Inc., or Guam Cellular and Guam Wireless Telephone Company, LLC, or Guam Wireless, mobile service providers in Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, for the total amount of US$71.8 million (approximately ¥8.4 billion). The acquisitions will be finalized upon approval by U.S. regulatory authorities.

 

We have established a holding company to acquire 100% of the shares of Guam Cellular following which, we plan to acquire the operations of Guam Wireless through Guam Cellular and to merge those companies. We will also provide additional funds, up to approximately US$6.5 million (approximately ¥764 million), to strengthen the facilities and infrastructure of the newly merged company.

 

The acquisitions will enable us to better serve Japanese travelers who visit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the islands’ residents, through benefiting from our world-leading mobile technology. We also aim to introduce a W-CDMA network for 3G services, utilizing Guam Cellular’s frequency band in the future.

 

DoCoMo Networks

 

We currently provide our services on several different networks, including our 2G network, our packet network for 2G, our 3G network and our PHS network. Each of these networks is composed of four basic components: base stations, antennas, switching centers and transmission lines. When a person uses a phone (or other mobile device), an antenna on top of a base station receives the signal. The signal then travels underground via fixed transmission lines or in the air via microwave transmission equipment to a switching center which routes the signal to another base station in the vicinity of the intended recipient of the signal. In general, each of our networks, our 2G networks, our PHS network and our 3G network, use separate base stations, antennas and switching centers, but we are moving ahead with providing shared antennas and transmission lines for the 2G and 3G networks in our efforts to reduce network costs.

 

In order to establish and maintain our high quality network economically and efficiently, we purchase high quality network equipment at low cost from approximately 100 suppliers inside and outside Japan in accordance with our procurement policies which stress openness and fairness.

 

At new procurement opportunities, we obtain quality equipment at competitive prices by receiving proposals widely from all potential suppliers, both domestic and international, through our website.

 

2G Network

 

Our 2G network is an integrated network of base stations, local switching centers, gateway switching centers, transit switching centers, signal transfer points, mobile-service control points and a mobile communication information storage system that route calls from the calling party to the called party. The various components of the network are connected primarily by microwave transmission, our own trunk and other fixed lines and fixed lines leased from NTT.

 

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The Japanese government issues licenses to carriers for the use of radio spectrum bandwidth, so the capacity of our cellular network is limited to the amounts of bandwidth that the government has made available to us. The government has currently allocated 71 MHz x2 (uplink and downlink) for the use of 2G Networks nationwide. We have been allocated frequency spectrum of 34.5 MHz x2, of which 29 MHz x2 is in the 800 MHz band nationwide and 5.5 MHz x2 is in the 1.5 GHz band in cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Therefore, our 2G network is separated into two bandwidths, an 800 MHz system and a 1.5 GHz system. We offer nationwide coverage on our 800 MHz digital cellular service, and coverage in cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka on our 1.5GHz digital cellular service.

 

The primary difference between the 800 MHz and 1.5 GHz networks for our 2G services is that they require separate hardware for base stations, although they may share antennas, switching centers and transmission lines. Handsets which use the 800 MHz network are different from those which use the 1.5 GHz network, except for handsets which work on both networks. The digital cellular services available to subscribers using an 800 MHz handset and to those using a 1.5 GHz handset are substantially the same. However, our 2G (PDC) i-mode services are only available on our nationwide 800 MHz network.

 

In addition to the network and its components, we have also established operations centers that monitor service over the nationwide network on a 24 hour, 365-day basis and track the usage and performance of the network. We have created redundancy on the network by installing backup equipment and constructing multiple links between critical network components.

 

Packet Network for 2G

 

The i-mode network uses our packet network, the same packet network as DoPa, our packet transmission service. The mobile packet transmission system enables flexible, high-speed data transmission with a minimum of transmission errors by applying packet switching technology to the PDC system. The mobile packet transmission system consists of packet gateway processing equipment, which provides functions to connect to other networks such as LANs and the Internet, access the mobile-service control point, and interface with the connected network, and packet subscriber processing equipment, which carries out packet transmission and reception with the mobile unit via the base station. The packet network covers the same area as our 800 MHz digital cellular service and allows for quicker access to Internet services. This type of network is much faster than circuit switch types of transmissions.

 

3G Network

 

We developed our 3G network based on the IMT-2000 standards of the International Telecommunications Union, or ITU, and launched commercial service of our 3G network in October 2001. IMT-2000 is a3G mobile phone system which offers both high-speed data transmission compared with the second-generation system and global roaming services. In May 2000, ITU recommended five technologies as the IMT-2000 standard. The technology adopted in our 3G network, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or W-CDMA, is a type of DS-CDMA, one of the five technologies recommended by ITU. We believe that, given the number of industry participants which have already signed on to W-CDMA, this platform may become an industry standard. We also believe that if enough overseas operators adopt a W-CDMA system compatible with our W-CDMA technology, we would be able to offer our services globally and benefit from economies of scale.

 

Our 3G network is an integrated network of base stations, various switching centers, transfer and control points and information storage systems. We are actively encouraging the eventual migration of our customers from our 2G to our 3G network. We are adding equipment and infrastructure for our 3G network to our existing 2G network. We began installing an IP router network based on an optical fiber relay network beginning in March 2004 to reduce costs and supplement our backbone switching station and transmission line network. The Japanese government is currently allocating a total bandwidth of 265MHz as radio frequencies available for use in nationwide 3G networks. Of this, we are using 20MHz x2 (for uplink and downlink) in the 2GHz band across

 

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the entire country. Of the 800MHz band that is currently in the process of reallocation, we are currently using 5MHz x2 in regions where interference with existing systems can be avoided. Further, on the 1.7GHz spectrum available in the Kanto, Tokai and Kansai regions, we have already commenced usage of 5MHz x2 in Kanto region in May 2006, and plan to commence usage of 5MHz x2 similarly in Tokai and Kansai regions. Therefore, our 3G network operate on the three bands of 2GHz, 800Hz and 1.7GHz.

 

3G Standardization Efforts

 

In 2000, the International Telecommunications Union, or ITU, recommended standard specifications for 3G, mobile phone systems. ITU collectively refers to 3G systems as IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications for the year 2000). In the recommendations setting forth the IMT-2000 standard specifications, five technological characteristics are listed.

 

Out of five characteristics, we expect that the following two are the most likely to achieve commercial success:

 

    IMT-MC, known as cdma2000; and

 

    IMT-DS, known as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or W-CDMA.

 

We have chosen to build our 3G network based on one of the five IMT-2000 technologies approved by ITU. We were the first company in the world to launch 3G services based on W-CDMA technology. Some of our international affiliates and strategic allies have already launched 3G services, including Hutchison 3G HK and Far EasTone. One of our competitors in Japan, Vodafone, launched their 3G service based on W-CDMA in December 2002.

 

Cdma2000 1x was first commercialized in South Korea in 2000. Our competitor, KDDI, launched its 3G commercial service based on cdma2000 1x in April 2002 in major cities in Japan.

 

While there can be no assurances, we believe that W-CDMA will become the dominant 3G technology. In an effort to promote and encourage the worldwide implementation of W-CDMA, in April 2002, we announced that we would begin licensing patents at reasonable and non-exclusive terms for our proprietary W-CDMA technology on which our FOMA system is based. Patents will be licensed to manufacturers which supply 3G products to mobile communications operators. We believe that widespread adoption of W-CDMA technology will reduce procurement and production costs and contribute to lowering fees for 3G services and products.

 

Handsets

 

We offer a variety of different handsets to subscribers. Because of the different transmission technologies that we use, subscribers purchase handsets specifically designed for either 2G or 3G services. We have strict quality standards that manufacturers of our handsets must meet. We also provide one-year warranties on all our handsets during which we provide repairs free of charge. In addition, for increased user convenience and operation efficiency, users are able to access our DoCoMo server using their own handsets and download software for upgrades.

 

Cellular (FOMA) Handsets

 

We have prepared a handset lineup that includes the 9 series, which comes equipped with the latest functions, the 7 series, which comes standard with the primary functions, and concept models, which emphasize the individuality of each handset. The 9 series comes equipped with the latest functions, including Osaifu Keitai and Push Talk functions. The 7 series is equipped with the primary functions and is easy-to-use and attractively designed. The concept models offer individuality, in the form, for example, of One Seg compatible handsets, Kids Keitai handsets, and thin, simple models.

 

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We also introduced FOMA 900i handsets in February 2004. These handsets have new attractive functions, such as “Deco-mail”, HTML e-mail which enables users to decorate their e-mail messages with colors and pictures; large-volume Java-based i-appli applications with a 400K scratch pad; videophone with animated cartoon characters expressing sender’s feelings and initiating real-time changes in the expressions of “avatar” characters; and “Chaku-motion” which signals incoming calls with i-motion video clips in order to promote data communications.

 

In August 2004, we began marketing the FOMA F900iC, which is the first handset that is compatible with i-mode FeliCa Service for Osaifu Keitai applications. F900iC is characterized by its high security functions. In December 2004, we introduced the N900iG, the first FOMA 3G handset for mobile communications, in approximately 115 countries and regions.

 

In September 2004, we introduced the new 3G FOMA “Raku Raku Phone” handset, which is the first model in the easy-to-use Raku Raku phone series. Unlike other phones in the series, this model has a camera for videophone calls and sending/receiving video clips via DoCoMo’s i-motion mail service. It also enables users to record voice messages and to send them as e-mail attachments.

 

In December 2004, we introduced the 901i series. Equipped with FeliCa smart-card technology, the series offers surround-type 3D sound and a function for remotely locking either the smart-card functions or all phone functions if the handset is lost or misplaced, simply by calling the handset from a registered phone number.

 

In February 2005, we revealed the 700i series, which targets the mid-range user. The new 700i series emphasizes style and ease of use while possessing all the basic FOMA services, including videophone, ChakuUta ring songs, ChakuMotion ring videos, Deco-mail decorative e-mails, music player functions, i-appli JAVA and Macromedia Flash applications, QVGA LCD screen resolution and megapixel cameras.

 

In September 2005, we introduced the FOMA 701i series. This series is compatible with the i-channel service, allowing users to automatically receive updated news and other information, which is displayed on a handset’s standby screen. FOMA 701i handsets have superior performance and users can select functions and designs to match a wide variety of usage patterns.

 

In November 2005, we introduced the 902i series, FOMA handsets with top-of-the-line functionality. These handsets are compatible with the “Push Talk” service which enables simultaneous group conversations by as many as five people. They are also compatible with the ToruCa information capture service that enables a user to download promotional coupons, store information and other such information simply by waving an Osaifu-Keitai enabled handset in front of a dedicated reader/writer machine at merchants, and they are compatible with i-channel and multi number, which enables users to assign up to two additional phone numbers to their handsets.

 

In December 2005, we introduced the “FOMA Raku Raku Phone Simple”, with functions stripped down to voice communication only.

 

In February 2006, we introduced the new 702i series of FOMA handsets. With these handsets, users can use such functions as G-Guide EPG Remote Control and Security Scan. Of the five models in this series, three were the result of collaborations among a noted designer, manufacturer and us, each model having its own unique design and style.

 

In March 2006, we introduced the FOMA P901iTV, which is designed to receive one-segment terrestrial digital broadcasting, known as “One Seg”, that began on April 1, 2006.

 

Also in March 2006, we introduced a child-friendly mobile phone, the FOMA SA800i. Developed both to be easy for children to use and to help keep children safe, this handset has a number of functions, including an alarm and GPS positioning, to give families peace of mind. It is compatible with “Kids’ i-mode menu”, which only has content suitable for children, as well as with the “imadoco search” service that enables parents to confirm the physical location of the handset.

 

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At the end of March 2006, we introduced the FOMA NM850iG, a global handset useable both in Japan and overseas. The handset is both compatible with Bluetooth and capable of wireless connection.

 

In April 2006, we introduced the simple and compact “Simpure” series, which is equipped with the basic functions and is geared towards no-frills-oriented customers who want only these basic functions. These handsets are compatible with overseas i-mode and i-mode mail, SMS, and “World Wing”, an international roaming service that also allows use of a videophone function.

 

As a card type FOMA device, in addition to the FOMA P2402, which has a packet transmission capability of up to 384 kbps downlink and 64 kbps uplink, we introduced the FOMA P2403, which supports the FOMA Plus Area, in March 2006. We also offered the FOMA F2402, which has a packet transmission capability with a maximum throughput of 384kbps for both downlink and uplink.

 

In July 2005, as a PDA type FOMA device for businessmen, we began offering the FOMA M1000, which is able to browse the Internet like a PC and enables use of e-mail file attachments.

 

We expect that the price of FOMA handsets will continue to decrease through our cost improvements.

 

One reason for this is the expansion of our product mix. In addition to the ever-evolving 9 series, which is continuously updated with new functions, in February 2005, we introduced the 7 series, handsets with superior design and a good balance between function and cost. And in April 2006, we introduced the SIMPURE series which, even more so than the 7 series, simplifies function and keeps costs down.

 

At the same time, we have invested in chipset development, unified software platform and greater efficiency in software development. During the years ended March 31, 2003 and March 31, 2004, we invested approximately ¥41 billion in the development of FOMA handsets, and succeeded in developing FOMA handsets featuring advanced applications and longer battery life. In order to accelerate the evolution of state-of-the-art 3G technologies, we invested a total of approximately ¥37 billion during the years ended March 31, 2005 and March 31, 2006 in the areas of handset application software which runs on advanced OS platforms (Linux and Symbian) and High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA technology; particularly with respect to the OS platforms, standardization among manufacturers has advanced, resulting in a shortened development period and cost reductions.

 

Further, by investing a total of approximately ¥12.5 billion from the year ended March 31, 2005 to the year ending March 31, 2007, in the development of LSI technology in relation to FOMA handset chipsets, having manufacturers incorporate our requirements at the LSI specification review stage and striving for one-chip LSI, we plan to shorten the time for development and reduce costs. Furthermore, by the second quarter of the year ending March 31, 2008, we plan to co-develop a cellular phone platform that integrates the baseband LSI, the application processor one-chip LSI, and operating software and other basic software.

 

We and the handset manufacturers share ownership rights for FOMA handset patented technologies and know-how, and we will receive royalties if these manufacturers supply similar 3G handsets to other 3G operators. In December 2005, in order to promote cooperation in technological development focusing on browser technology, we invested an additional ¥15 billion in Access Co. Ltd. Also in December 2005, in an effort to strengthen our cooperation in technology relating to Java-based handset middleware, we invested ¥13 billion in Aplix Corporation. Advanced handset capabilities and a wide variety of model choices are important to the success of 3G services. By investing in FOMA handset development, we expect to motivate manufacturers to produce advanced value-added 3G handsets, promoting the development of 3G services and mobile multimedia as we have already seen with the popularity of our 9i series.

 

Cellular (mova) Handsets

 

We have offered three types of handsets for our 2G service: our 5 series handsets which are our high-end models with advanced technology, our 2 series handsets which are our basic function models and our 6 series

 

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handsets which are targeted for particular user segments. While our customers are continuing to migrate from our mova service to our FOMA service, we are continuing to offer mova handsets, principally as various niche models, in order to enrich our total line-up of cellular handsets. We plan and develop these handsets jointly with manufacturers and offer several different models for each series of handsets.

 

The vast majority of new handsets are now i-mode enabled. Our i-mode enabled handsets are relatively small and lightweight terminals that are installed with packet transmission and browsing software functions in addition to function as normal cellular phones. i-mode enables users to have immediate access to the Internet without using a PC or other systems. The DoCoMo i-mode browser reads HTML Subset text. The handsets have a large color LCD screen that is suitable for richer contents. The majority of our handsets are equipped with digital cameras. We believe that one of the strengths of i-mode is that our handsets are smaller and lightweight compared to more bulky laptops, PDAs or other devices that can also access the Internet.

 

In May 2004, we introduced new 506i series PDC handsets, which feature cameras with effective resolutions of more than one million pixels. They also come with infrared ports for exchanging data and photos with compatible handsets and performing infrared-based functions such as remote-control operation of appliances, authentication and cashless payments.

 

In July 2004, we launched the i-mode FeliCa Service for Osaifu Keitai applications and marketed the company’s first i-mode handset incorporating a contactless IC card, the mova P506iC, which may be used for a variety of functions that were previously possible only with IC-equipped cards, including train travel, debit card (electronic money) and credit card-based withdrawals and transactions, and personal identification.

 

In October 2004, we introduced new 253i series PDC handsets including straight-type bodies, slide-type bodies and folding-type bodies. Sliding the display activates the camera or switches the phone to the mail reply or Schedule/Memo input screen.

 

In July 2004, we released the premini, the smallest i-mode handset ever released, weighing just 69 grams and measuring only 90 mm in height, 40 mm in width and 19.8 mm in thickness. The premini is suited to customers who seek a handset that is simple and compact yet still offers i-mode capability.

 

In December 2004, we introduced the Music PORTER, a handset compatible with music players and containing FM radio tuner. The Music PORTER came with Memory Stick Duo (which is a trademark of Sony Corporation) to allow users store and enjoy music data.

 

In October 2005, we introduced the RADIDEN, the world’s first handset with a built-in radio turner compatible with the three bands of AM, FM, and TV.

 

In March and April of 2006, in response to user demand for the long-popular mova handsets, we introduced new members of the 506i series, the low-priced N506iS II and P506iC II,.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

We benefit from the strong positive perception in Japan of both the DoCoMo brand name and the NTT brand name. We market our cellular, PHS, FOMA and other services to our subscribers through our extensive distribution network throughout Japan, which includes numerous primary retailers operating approximately 1,535 DoCoMo Shops. DoCoMo Shops are specialty shops that we have licensed and allowed to use the DoCoMo logo and other DoCoMo trade and service marks, as well as facades and displays that easily identify the shops as DoCoMo Shops. DoCoMo Shops have agreed to market the full line of our products and services and no other competitor’s products or services on the premises. Primary retailers also resell handsets to secondary and tertiary retailers who have no direct contractual relationship with DoCoMo. Such secondary and tertiary retailers also market our cellular and other services and must be approved as a DoCoMo retailer prior to selling our products and services. There were approximately 13,550 secondary and tertiary retailers throughout Japan as of March 31, 2006.

 

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One of the primary advantages of our extensive distribution network is that it makes it easier for potential subscribers to sign up for services and purchase mova, FOMA and other equipment. As competition for subscribers increases, the ability to attract and retain subscribers is becoming even more important. In order to continue to attract and retain subscribers, our current sales and marketing strategy is to (i) continue to improve our network coverage and quality, (ii) increase traffic by enhancing i-mode and other services, (iii) increase the quality of after-sales service, (iv) promote our brand name through our “customer oriented” approach. (v) provide competitive tariff and service pricing (vi) enrich our handset lineup (vii) develop bricks-and-mortar business (viii) enrich our customer retention program.

 

We believe that the combination of our distribution network, extensive advertising activities, the strength of our brand name, the quality of our digital network and our competitive pricing and extensive after-sales service will allow us to continue to attract and retain subscribers.

 

Customer Service

 

As customer retention is increasingly becoming important in the Japanese telecommunications market, we have focused on ensuring high degrees of customer satisfaction. We realize that customer service, including the service we provide when customers sign up and after-sales service, is critical to retaining subscribers and maintaining the high reputation and recognition of the DoCoMo brand name. We provide extensive customer service at the point of sale through our nationwide network of branches, DoCoMo Shops and agents described above. Our customer service efforts are also supported by fully integrated information systems. In addition, customers can use their cell phones or personal computers to access our 24-hour Internet e-site, where they can change their services, plans and addresses.

 

We also provide extensive after-sales service primarily through the DoCoMo Shops, which have service counters that deal with handset problems and repairs. In 2005, to provide customers with even greater convenience, we expanded service counters that handle repairs. We also have various toll free numbers that provide customer service including basic service and billing information provided during business hours as well as support and assistance 24 hours a day for network problems and handset problems, including lost and stolen handsets. By calling these free numbers, a subscriber can be directed to the nearest DoCoMo Shop for service or can even be connected directly to a DoCoMo repair technician who will check the condition of the line over the phone for subscribers experiencing problems.

 

In order to promote quality of after-sales service for existing customers, we pay various fees to agents for certain after-sales services, including handset upgrades, calling plan changes, and diagnostic and repair work on handsets and other equipment.

 

In an effort to expand the number of users in segments where the penetration rate has been low, we have periodically held educational seminars at DoCoMo Shops and created a customer desk to respond to inquiries relating to the use of cellular phones.

 

We have also started a membership-based loyalty program called “DoCoMo Premier Club” for all subscribers, in order to offer enhanced customer service. This program consists of a “Point Incentive Program”, a “Status Service” and offering “preferential treatment”. Customers earn points based on the amount they spent every month. They can use accumulated points to get discounts when they purchase new handsets, or exchange them for items such as travel coupons, dining coupons and entertainment tickets. Customers are classified into four levels according to the previous year’s usage, and higher-level customers receive more points for the same amount of spending. The Status Service provides preferential services for high-end users, such as dedicated call centers and rental service of global roaming handsets. All DoCoMo Premier Club members have repair charges capped at ¥5,000, and for the three years from purchase of a handset can receive free repair services. Each customer who uses a same DoCoMo handset for two years or longer is entitled to a complimentary battery-pack, low-priced repairs for handsets with expired warranties, and support for problems such as water damage, theft

 

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and loss that occur within a year of purchase. They are also entitled to preferential treatment including discounts at hotels, shops and restaurants given by our alliance partners in this program.

 

Information Technology

 

We employ various computerized, fully integrated information systems to support key functions, including network operation management, procurement, billing, financial accounting, customer service and marketing.

 

One of the most important of these systems is ALADIN, which is a proprietary nationwide operating system we share with our eight regional subsidiaries. ALADIN has five primary functions: customer service and interface, phone number management, information processing and storage, sales information management, and credit investigation. ALADIN manages data and information for and about our mova, FOMA, PHS and Quickcast subscribers nationwide and provides authorized customer service personnel at service counters in branch offices, agents and DoCoMo Shops and in our telemarketing center with online access to network data so that they can effectively address customer inquiries.

 

ALADIN enhances the efficiency of our operations by simplifying the process of registering customer information, automating phone number registration, enabling automatic credit reference checks and other functions. For example, ALADIN controls telephone number allocation which makes it possible for handsets to be assigned telephone numbers and activated immediately upon signing up for cellular service and also provides an opportunity to conduct reference checks in order to prevent the assignment of a telephone number to a subscriber who does not meet our payment history and other requirements. ALADIN maintains and continually updates a list of previous subscribers that had credit problems.

 

ALADIN and related systems are also used to collect customer data so that management and marketing personnel can monitor usage, track market segments, monitor subscriber satisfaction, analyze trends in calling patterns, target network expansion and develop appropriate marketing strategies.

 

We have implemented various measures to ensure thorough and adequate control of customer information during the use of the ALADIN customer information system by our staff members. Such measures include system login through fingerprint authentication, regular inspections of locations where ALADIN terminals are installed to check how the system is used and managed, examination of access logs and regular information management training for employees who manage this system.

 

Billing System

 

The billing system handles the processing and printing of certain bills sent on a monthly basis to our subscribers. We bill each of our subscribers on a monthly basis and subscribers may pay their bills either by bank or other financial institution account transfer, by credit card, or in person at any number of locations, including our shops, banks or other financial institutions or convenience stores. Our e-billing service allows us to provide customers with an electronic bill instead of sending them a paper bill and therefore helps the environment and allows us to provide rebates of ¥100 per bill to subscribers who use this service. A very high percentage of our subscribers, approximately 78% as of March 31, 2006, pay their monthly bill by automatic payment or direct debit from their credit card, bank or other financial institution account.

 

In May 2002, we introduced a paperless billing system that enables i-mode users to pay monthly mobile phone bills at convenience stores using a QR code on the screens of their mobile phones. Our “combien?” service is offered at approximately 2,300 convenience stores nationwide as of March 31, 2006. We are also negotiating similar arrangements with other convenience stores. There is no fee for this service and users only pay a small transmission charge to download the bar code.

 

We also offer a prepaid card called “Mobiler’s Check” that allows payment in advance for the monthly phone bill. By registering the 14-digit number that appears on the back of the prepaid card from a mobile phone,

 

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the prepaid amount will be deducted from the next month’s mobile phone bill. Subscribers can apply the card to our mobile phone services. Mobiler’s Check is available at DoCoMo Shops and other locations.

 

As of March 31, 2006, our collection rate on outstanding bills within 70 days from the payment due date was 99%. In order to keep our ratio of bad debts low, we carefully monitor subscribers with large outstanding amounts and delinquent customers, send frequent notices and accelerate billing in cases where usage amounts may have accumulated above certain threshold amounts during a billing cycle. In addition, we terminate services to subscribers who have not paid after 30 to 40 days from the initial payment due date and cancel subscribers’ subscriptions if they have not paid after 60 days from the initial payment due date.

 

Enterprise Information System (DREAMS)

 

In April 2002, we and our 35 consolidated subsidiaries introduced an enterprise information system which we call “DREAMS”, and as of June 2006, our 38 subsidiaries have already implemented this system. Based on this system, we are able to consolidate the flow of operations, cash, goods and information throughout our company and our consolidated subsidiaries. This system allows us to realize real-time and effective management of our company. Specifically, this system gives us the ability to understand real-time information and thereby make timely decisions, allows us to perform electronic approval to reduce indirect operations, and allows us to effectively manage capital among the DoCoMo group companies.

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development is performed primarily at our facilities with input from our various eight regional subsidiaries as well as our various divisions. We spent ¥110.5 billion on research and development in the year ended March 31, 2006. Previously, research and development expenses were apportioned between us and our eight regional subsidiaries. However, this expense apportionment was replaced by a new arrangement effective the year ended March 31, 2001. Currently, each of our regional subsidiaries bears research and development expenses in the form of usage fees equal to 3.1% of its operating revenues. Each regional subsidiary is allowed to use the results of our research and development freely although we retain patents and other intellectual property rights and we control all intellectual property licensing and sublicensing.

 

We organize our research and development efforts through our R&D division. Our R&D division includes:

 

    three research laboratories, one each for network research, wireless research and multimedia research;

 

    seven development departments, including network management, IP core network, IP radio network, customer equipment, network system, radio system, and global network development departments;

 

    a research and development general affairs department; and

 

    a research and development planning department.

 

Furthermore, as part of our ongoing research and development and in order to continue to improve our products, networks and services, our various research and development departments collaborate with product development staff at each of our operating divisions. We are also working together with major manufacturers of our handsets and network equipment.

 

In addition, outside the R&D division we have other development-related divisions, such as our Network Division and Products & Services Division.

 

We have established DoCoMo Communications Laboratories USA, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary which carries out research and development of Internet-related technology. In July 2005, we established DoCoMo Capital, Inc., whose purpose is to invest in venture businesses that have innovative, leading-edge technology applicable to mobile communications. We have also set up DoCoMo Communications Laboratories Europe GmbH, whose

 

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primary research areas are network technology, next-generation IC/USIM card technology and security technology. In November 2003, we established DoCoMo Beijing Communications Laboratories Co., Ltd. to research and promote the advancement of mobile communication technologies for fourth-generation (4G) and beyond. Finally, we established DoCoMo Technology, Inc., which primarily carries out research and development to enhance our PDC system, IMT-2000 system and other existing systems and supplements our fundamental research and development activities.

 

Furthermore, we have also conducted research with various universities inside and outside of Japan, such as University of Hong Kong and Yeungnam University, among others. These groups are involved in technological exchange in connection with not only 3G research and development but also 4G cellular communications systems and other advanced technology research.

 

In April 2003, we and Japan’s other mobile phone operators agreed to conduct a joint study on the possible biological effects of exposure to radio waves from mobile phone systems. In July 2005, an intermediate report was issued, and at present research is still ongoing.

 

We are continuing research and development of our 3G system through our IMT-2000 related research. This includes further research and development of the W-CDMA technology as well as research and development of new products, services and applications for the 3G system. Currently, we are focusing on increasing transmission capacity and capabilities, reducing network costs, downsizing base station equipment, improving functionality of switches, reducing handset size and weight, adding advanced functions to handsets, extending battery life, improving mobile multimedia services and developing video mail and international roaming services. In addition, we are developing handsets and networks for High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA, a W-CDMA technology to accelerate 3G downstream packet data transmissions. HSDPA is expected to accelerate maximum downstream data transmission to approximately 3.6Mbps upon introduction and around 14Mbps eventually. We intend to launch new services, using HSDPA technology to improve the data transmission speed, by the end of the second quarter of the year ending March 31, 2007.

 

Another research and development theme is an IP-based network. The rapid increase of IP-based applications and the traffic they generate require communications methods for mobile networks that are both efficient and highly compatible with IP traffic. To meet these requirements, we have initiated research aimed at implementing an IP-based network that can be constructed at a low cost with generalized network routers, concerning development of IP-based routing and Quality of Service (QoS) technologies for multimedia traffic, as well as the development of new IP-based mobility control technology. Furthermore, we are continually researching ways to improve the efficiency, design and quality of our Personal Digital Cellular network.

 

We are conducting research regarding other advanced technology, including fundamental research regarding technologies applicable to 4G wireless communications system aiming at further enhancement of cellular services. ITU has set forth as a requirement for fourth generation services the ability to support transmission speeds of up to 100 Mbps for downlinks when a user is traveling at high speeds, and 1 Gbps when traveling at low speeds. If such a system is realized, fourth generation services will also feature high quality video equivalent to high definition television and will allow high-speed transmission of large-capacity data on a bandwidth of approximately 100 MHz. We are actively participating in the international standardization movement for a 4G system. We are also supporting the development of the Super 3G system.

 

In the summer of 2002, we began practical evaluations of key technologies for our 4G mobile communications system, as well as implement an experimental system to demonstrate their benefits. In October 2002, we successfully completed a 100 Mbps downlink and a 20 Mbps uplink transmission experiment in an indoor environment using an experimental 4G mobile communications system. In May 2003, the Kanto Bureau of Telecommunications granted us a preliminary license to conduct field trials of 4G mobile communications systems. In August 2004, we successfully completed experiments on real-time 1-Gbps packet transmission in downlink. In May 2005, following the experiments in an indoor environment, we successfully realized outdoor

 

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experiments on real-time 1-Gbps packet transmission in downlink, followed by 2.5 Gbps packet transmission in downlink in December 2005. Currently, we are continuously evaluating and improving these high-speed transmission technologies though the field trials.

 

R&D Center

 

In order to respond to swiftly growing demand for wireless telecommunications and to diversifying customer needs, we have upgraded our research and development capabilities and streamlined our research and development operations. To this end, the NTT DoCoMo R&D Center in Yokosuka Research Park was completed in March 1998. We added three R&D facilities in March 2002, October 2003 and December 2004. The NTT DoCoMo R&D Center is a highly advanced R&D center near Tokyo specializing in mobile telecommunications technology. With state-of-the-art testing facilities, the NTT DoCoMo R&D Center is the base for research and development of basic technologies, 3G, 4G and other mobile telecommunications systems and a variety of new products and services.

 

Competition

 

With the rapid growth of the wireless telecommunications industry in Japan, the increasing numbers of subscribers and the deregulation of the industry, we are facing increased competition. We have responded to the gains made in recent years by KDDI’s au service by revising our billing plans and releasing attractive handsets. Furthermore, in addition to direct competition from other cellular operators, we believe that the telecommunications industry in Japan is organizing itself into integrated groups of telecommunications service providers that will offer local, long-distance and international phone services as well as mobile and other services. While we believe that we have certain competitive advantages over these groups, including our current market leadership position, our research and development capability and our affiliation with NTT, the effect of industry consolidation is difficult to predict and no assurance can be given that we will be able to continue to protect our current market position.

 

In February 2006, The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, or MIC (which was previously called the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, or MPHPT ) revised a draft ministerial order for domestic wireless carriers to take steps by November 1, 2006, to enable number portability for cellular phone subscribers. The introduction of this system would allow subscribers to change cellular phone providers, while retaining their current phone number. If this system does result in a large numbers of subscribers wishing to change service providers, it could have the effect of increasing competitive pressure among providers in Japan.

 

In addition to the current cellular operators in Japan, companies have announced their intention to enter the cellular service market. The applications for radio spectrum allotment were approved by MIC when Softbank and eAccess applied for 1.7GHz radio spectrum and IP Mobile applied for 2GHz radio spectrum. The addition of a new entrant or of new entrants into the cellular industry in Japan may increase competitive pressure on all current operators, but until it can be seen what types of services will be provided, the degree to which our business will be affected will remain unclear.

 

Cellular Competition

 

There are presently three cellular operators in Japan: DoCoMo, the KDDI group and Vodafone. As of March 31, 2006, we had a market share of 55.7%, the KDDI group (including the TU-KA Group) had a market share of 27.7% and Vodafone had a market share of 16.6%. These three cellular operators have all received permission and licenses from the government for the establishment of 3G services in Japan.

 

The KDDI group is the second largest cellular operator in Japan with approximately 25.44 million subscribers as of March 31, 2006. The KDDI group is a product of the merger of the telecommunications carriers

 

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KDD, DDI and IDO in Japan that occurred on October 1, 2000. Its cellular operations are a result of an alliance between three formerly independent cellular operators, DDI cellular and its related subsidiaries and IDO. They offer nationwide services using cdmaOne technology as well as PDC technology. The KDDI group launched its 3G services through cdma2000 1x in major cities in Japan in April 2002. On October 1, 2005, KDDI merged three companies of TU-KA group and began to accept contract changes from TU-KA cellular services to au cellular services, enabling TU-KA subscribers to carry on the same mobile phone number they were using in TU-KA cellular services. Furthermore, on February 20, 2006, KDDI added another privilege which enables TU-KA subscribers to carry on same e-mail address, and promote the migration of the users to au cellular services. As of March 31, 2006, they had approximately 22.70 million 3G subscribers. The network construction costs for the KDDI group have been lower than ours because of their ability to use most of their existing cdmaOne networks.

 

Vodafone operates nationwide and is the third largest cellular operator with approximately 15.21 million subscribers as of March 31, 2006. A member of the worldwide Vodafone group, their Japan operations were known as J-Phone before adopting the Vodafone name in October 2003. Vodafone began offering 3G services in December 2002, based on the same standard W-CDMA (DS-CDMA) technology as ours. Vodafone had approximately 3.04 million W-CDMA 3G subscribers as of March 31, 2006. Vodafone also offers international roaming service with GSM networks overseas.

 

In March 2006, Softbank announced that one of its subsidiaries had agreed to acquire Vodafone’s Japanese unit. In April 2006, it was announced that Softbank had offered to return to MIC the certification for the 1.7GHz spectrum allotment it received on the assumption that it was to be a new entrant in the market. In April 2006, Softbank completed to acquire Vodafone’s Japanese unit.

 

Competition in the industry has led all three cellular operators to enact similar rate plans and promotions. For example, KDDI and Vodafone both offer plans that are similar to our “Family Discount”, “Nikagetsu Kurikoshi” and “pake-hodai” plans. Additionally, KDDI offers “My Discount” services that provide a discounted monthly fee for long-term contracts of two years, and Vodafone offers “Love Flat-Rate”, under which a user to pays a flat rate for e-mail and phone services to a designated party.

 

Regarding potential competition from fixed-line, our management believes that fixed line telecommunications services and cellular communications services are not necessarily competitive with, but rather are primarily complementary to, each other—customers typically use fixed-line networks when they are at their homes or offices and cellular networks when they are outside. However, with the expansion of services offered by both fixed line and cellular operators, improvements in fixed line and cellular technology, rate reductions in cellular services, deregulation, competition within the telecommunications industry and other developments (including technological developments that may enable us to lower the cost and further improve the capacity of cellular transmission), there may be direct or indirect competition or conflicts of interest between us and other NTT subsidiaries.

 

i-mode Competition

 

The competitors of i-mode are “EZweb” provided by the KDDI group and “Vodafone live!” provided by Vodafone. As with i-mode, KDDI’s EZweb and Vodafone’s “Vodafone live!” service allow their users to connect to the Internet, send color images and also utilize navigation programs. We expect increasing competition in the areas of content offering and e-commerce services.

 

PHS Competition

 

Our two main competitors in the PHS market are WILLCOM and ASTEL. In October 2004, the Carlyle Group and Kyocera Corporation acquired the business of DDI Pocket, Inc., a subsidiary of KDDI. In February 2005, DDI Pocket changed its name to WILLCOM. WILLCOM remains the leader among the three PHS

 

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operators with a market share of approximately 83% of PHS subscribers as of March 31, 2006. We are second with an approximately 16% market share and ASTEL has an approximately 1% market share. ASTEL group provides services in certain areas of Japan, but has terminated or plans to terminate its services. We stopped accepting new applications for PHS services as of April 30, 2005, and on January 2006, we have decided to terminate PHS services in the third quarter of the year ending March 31, 2008.

 

Regulation of the Mobile Telecommunications Industry in Japan

 

MIC is the primary regulatory body with responsibility for the telecommunications industry in Japan. We are regulated by MIC primarily under the Telecommunications Business Law. We and other mobile telecommunications service providers are also subject to the Radio Law. We, however, are not subject to regulation under the Law Concerning Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Etc., or NTT Law.

 

The Telecommunications Business Law

 

Until March 2004, the Telecommunications Business Law had classified telecommunications operators into two types of business categories: Type I Carriers, such as us, our eight regional subsidiaries and other telecommunications operators which provide telecommunications services by establishing telecommunications circuit facilities; and Type II Carriers, which are telecommunications carriers other than Type I Carriers. Type II Carriers were subdivided into Special Type II Carriers, including us as an international telecommunications provider, which were subject to the registration requirement, and General Type II Carriers, which were only required to make notification to the Minister of MIC to commence business. In April 2004, the longstanding classification of Type I and Type II was abolished when the Amendments to the Telecommunications Business Law described below fully went into effect. Although before the amendments we and our eight regional subsidiaries were required to obtain a permission from the Minister of MIC to operate Type I telecommunications business and to be registered as Special Type II Carriers, after the amendments we and our eight regional subsidiaries are only subject to a registration requirement. Depending on the scale of telecommunications circuit facilities operated and the scope of the areas where the telecommunications circuit facilities are located, telecommunications carriers are subject either to a registration requirement or to a notification requirement.

 

The following table summarizes some of the major current regulatory requirements applicable to telecommunications carriers under the revised Telecommunications Business Law:

 

    

Regulation:


a. Business entry

   Registration with the Minister of MIC required for carriers that install large-size telecommunications circuit facilities. Notification to the Minister required for carriers other than the above.

b. Suspension and Discontinuation of business

   Notification to the Minister of MIC and, in general, announcement to users are required.

c. Tariff settings, service offerings, etc.

   Unregulated in principle (1) Accountability to users concerning outline of terms and conditions of telecommunications service and proper and swift processing of complaints and inquiries are required.

d. Business improvement order

   The Minister of MIC may order a carrier to improve business activities to protect the interests of the public and users with regard to the secrecy of communications, unreasonably discriminatory treatment, ensuring important communications, and tariff and other service conditions, etc.

 

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Regulation:


e. Interconnection

  

Obligation for interconnection with other telecommunications carriers in principle, which propose interconnection.

In the event a telecommunications carrier does not accept entering into a consultation despite other carrier’s proposal to enter into an agreement to interconnect telecommunications facilities or if said consultation fails to come to an agreement, except for certain cases, the Minister may order the telecommunications carrier to start or resume consultation.

f. Privilege of public utilities

   Based on a request by a telecommunications carrier, except for certain cases, the Minister of MIC may designate the telecommunications carrier as an approved carrier who has the privilege to act as a public utility.

g. Ensuring important communications

   Telecommunications carriers are required to prioritize important communications when natural disaster, accident or any other emergency occurs or is on the verge of occurrence.

h. Permission of agreement with foreign governments, etc.

   The Minister of MIC’s permission is required for conclusion, amendment or abolition of agreements/contracts on important matters relating to telecommunications business with foreign governments, nationals, or judicial persons/entities.

i. Maintenance and Self-declaration of conformity

   Telecommunications carriers that install telecommunications circuit facilities are obligated to maintain their facilities in compliance with technical standards and to confirm conformity of such facilities to technical standards by themselves, and notify the outcome to the Minister of MIC.

(1) A carrier providing universal telecommunications services shall establish tariffs concerning such services and shall submit tariffs to the Minister of MIC. A carrier providing certain designated telecommunications services shall establish tariffs concerning such services and shall submit tariffs to the Minister of MIC.

 

The asymmetric regulation

 

The asymmetric regulation applicable to us and provided in the Telecommunications Business Law before amendment remains intact. This regulation is based on the distinction of (i) Category I-designated telecommunications facilities (e.g., local fixed-line systems) and (ii) Category II-designated telecommunication facilities (e.g., mobile communications systems), each designated by the Minister of MIC. The Minister of MIC may designate as Category II-designated facilities the transmission lines and other telecommunication facilities of a telecommunication carrier if its market share of the number of mobile terminal facilities within the same service area exceeds 25%. Our telecommunications facilities were designated as Category II-designated facilities in February 2002. The Minister of MIC may subject a telecommunications carrier that possesses Category II-designated facilities to the prohibition of anti-competitive behaviors by designation, if the percentage of such carrier’s revenue from telecommunications service using the Category II-designated facilities to the total revenue from all business activities of the provision of the same type telecommunications service within the same area exceeds 25% and it is deemed necessary to ensure proper competition with other telecommunications carriers. Our and our eight subsidiaries’ revenue percentage in all service areas exceeds the 25% threshold and we were so designated in May 2002.

 

Under the asymmetric regulation described above, we and other telecommunications carriers that possess Category II-designated telecommunications facilities are subject to the prohibition of anti-competitive behaviors, such as abuse or provision of proprietary information obtained from competitors through interconnection for other purposes, unduly favorable treatment of specific carriers and undue compulsion or intervention upon other

 

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carriers, manufacturers or suppliers of telecommunication equipment, and are obligated to compile and disclose financial statements pertaining to telecommunications businesses. In addition, telecommunications carriers that possess Category II-designated telecommunications facilities are obligated to establish and notify to the Minister of MIC the Article of Agreement Concerning Interconnection prior to implementation and to make them available for public inspection. The Minister of MIC may order to make changes to the Article of Agreement Concerning Interconnection. Agreements pertaining to the interconnection between Category II-designated facilities and other telecommunications carriers cannot be entered into or amended without complying with the Article of Agreement Concerning Interconnection.

 

For other recent discussions concerning the Telecommunications Business Law, please see “Recent Discussions on the Telecommunications Business Law and the Radio Law” below.

 

The Radio Law

 

Outline

 

The Radio Law was established to promote public welfare by ensuring the equitable and efficient utilization of radio waves. There are certain important provisions of the Radio Law applicable to us and other mobile phone service providers.

 

Article 4 requires that any person who intends to establish a radio station shall first obtain a license from the Minister of MIC. This requires cellular operators to obtain a license in connection with individual base stations and handsets. However, with respect to increases in the number of base stations and sales of handsets within the already allocated spectrum, a technical standards verification system and a blanket licensing system have been introduced to expedite the process by MIC. Under Article 6 of the Radio Law, persons wishing to receive a license for a radio station must submit an application to the Minister of MIC together with documents setting forth such matters as purpose and reason construction of a base station is necessary, communication counterparties, communication matters, location where radio equipment are to be installed, and frequencies to be used. Under Article 7 of the Radio Law, MIC, upon receiving an application for a license, examines it to determine whether it satisfies, among others, the following criteria: conformity of the construction design to technical standards, the availability of the frequencies requested, conformity with the fundamental standards of radio station establishment such as the applicant’s business need for the license. Generally, however, the Minister of MIC submits such important matters as spectrum allocation to new operators and new systems to the Radio Regulatory Council for consultation and will grant the license only after obtaining the Council’s reply thereto.

 

Article 17 of the Radio Law requires a licensee to obtain permission from Minister of MIC for changes in the operations, including changes of the person with whom radio communications is conducted and location of radio equipment, and for the initiation of construction to modify any radio equipment. As with licensing, regulatory requirements with respect to the location of radio equipment and construction to change radio equipment for use within allocated spectrum has been simplified by implementing a certification procedure.

 

Article 26 of the Radio Law also provides that a list setting out current frequency assignments and frequencies available for future assignment shall be made public for the convenience of any person that would like to establish a radio station. The frequency or spectrum allocated for a certain use such as cellular, PHS or paging services is stipulated by a ministerial ordinance of MIC. From within the assigned frequency or spectrum for a certain service, MIC by issuing a circular allocates spectrum to the wireless telecommunications operators providing such service. In accordance with Article 4 of the Radio Law as noted above, the operators then apply for a license for radio stations (i.e., base stations and handsets) that use frequency from within their allocated spectrum.

 

Spectrum Allocation

 

Spectrum allocation is awarded based on application to MIC, which regulates the use of radio frequencies and the allocation of spectrum in Japan under the Radio Law. MIC currently allocates 71 MHz x2 for 2G

 

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networks. As spectrum capacity is limited, spectrum is a highly valuable resource. We have been allocated frequency spectrum of 34.5 MHz x2. Within our allocated spectrum, we use 29 MHz x2 for our 800 MHz PDC network and 5.5 MHz x2 for our 1.5 GHz PDC network in cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Currently, two other mobile phone operators have been allocated spectrum for their cellular services in Japan. The KDDI group has collectively been allocated 25 MHz x2 in the 800 MHz and 1.5 GHz bands for 2G networks. Vodafone has been allocated 11.5 MHz in the 1.5 GHz band.

 

Radio frequencies for 3G networks have been allocated as follows.

 

On June 30, 2000, we, KDDI and Vodafone respectively obtained approvals from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (which was consolidated into the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications with other governmental organizations and is currently called the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, or MIC) which allow each company to use the 2 GHz band. All three companies have each been allocated 15 MHz x2 of spectrum.

 

In May 2004, MIC announced its allocation policy allowing us and Vodafone each to use an additional 5MHz x2 of spectrum in the 2GHz band. KDDI is expected to be allowed to use an additional 5MHz x2 of spectrum after the interference problem with PHS systems is technically resolved.

 

In February 2005, MIC announced its policy to allocate spectrum in the 800MHz band to us and KDDI respectively, which allows each company to use 15MHz x2 of spectrum after completing the migration of existing systems operated in the 800MHz band to other frequency bands.

 

In August 2005, MIC announced its policy for new allocation of 35MHz x2 in the 1.7GHz band (of which, 15 MHz x2 is nationwide, only for new businesses, and 20MHz x2 is for Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, for both new and existing businesses) and 15 MHz x2 in the 2GHz band (nationwide, for new businesses only). As of April 2006, in the 1.7GHz band, BB Mobile (subsidiary of Softbank) and eMobile (subsidiary of eAccess), as new business, have each been allocated 5MHz x2 nationwide, and we, as an existing business, have been allocated 5MHz x2, and IP Mobile has been allocated 15MHz in the 2GHz band. However, because through the acquisition of Vodafone by BB Mobile, the assumptions that were in effect at the time of attestation of the establishment plan were no longer operative, BB Mobile, on April 28, 2006, reported to MIC that it wanted to return the attestation, and in May 2006, MIC referred the matter of revocation of attestation of the establishment plan to the Radio Regulatory Council.

 

Recent Amendments

 

Under amendments to the Radio Law that took effect in November 2005, a review was undertaken of charges for radio spectrum use, with a view towards correcting what was perceived as unfairness based on type of radio station. In addition, new bandwidth charges are to be imposed depending on the frequency bandwidth used by mobile phones and other devices, and radio spectrum use charges for mobile phones have been lowered. Under this system, which is designed to facilitate migration from 2G to 3G, increases or decreases in use fees for mobile phones may be offset among blanket licenses held by the same licensee. The radio spectrum use fees are to be used to provide subsidies to support transmission line costs to base stations meeting certain requirements and qualifying as a wireless system dissemination support business.

 

For other recent discussions concerning the Radio Law, please see “Recent Discussions on the Telecommunications Business Law and the Radio Law” below.

 

Recent Discussions on the Telecommunications Business Law and the Radio Law

 

Besides the points already covered in the amendments or the proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Business Law and the Radio Law, several other changes have been recommended by various governmental bodies.

 

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Three-Year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform

 

The Regulatory Reform Committee recommended in its report dated December 12, 2000 that, among other things, the introduction of a spectrum auction system be considered and discussed. The Government on March 30, 2001, launched the Three-Year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform. The Regulatory Reform Committee was terminated on March 31, 2001. The General Regulatory Reform Council, a body established under the Cabinet Office, has since then been in charge of promoting regulatory reform. On March 28, 2003, it published the Three-Year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform. In relation to mobile telecommunications area, most of the issues in the Three-Year Program have already been reflected in the amended Telecommunications Business Law while an optimum spectrum reallocation system is still under consideration.

 

New IT Revolution Strategy

 

As part of the “New IT Revolution Strategy” determined on January 19, 2006, by the Government’s IT Strategy Headquarters, the following proposals were made in connection with mobile communications:

 

    realization of a mobile communications system with data transmission speeds that are 100 times faster than the current level by the year ending March 31, 2011.

 

    formulation of guidelines for standardization by 2010 of displays and method of operations for handsets and equipment that take into consideration user-friendliness for all people, including seniors and the handicapped, and promotion of product labeling that facilitates selection by consumers of easy-to-use products.

 

Emergency Calling Functions

 

As part of the “technical requirements for caller location notification functions for emergency calls from cellular phones” announced by MIC’s committee on advancement of emergency calling functions on June 30, 2004, the following provision was proposed:

 

    cellular handsets for 3G mobile communication systems introduced by network operators in April 2007 and after must in principle be equipped with GPS location and notification functionality.

 

Regarding the provision of a location information notification feature for emergency situations, we are working with relevant ministries in order to successfully implement the proposal in consideration of user convenience and the demands of society with due consideration to the protection of privacy and communication confidentiality.

 

NTT Group

 

Both the Three-Year Program and the New IT Revolution Strategy stated that the Japanese government expects that NTT will establish a voluntary action plan for promoting competition, including:

 

    further opening of the NTT group’s local network, and

 

    realization of competition within the NTT group by decreasing NTT’s ownership percentage in our company and NTT Com.

 

In response, on October 25, 2001, NTT together with NTT East and NTT West announced “NTT’s Strategy concerning Current Management Issues”. In relation to its group operations, in that release NTT stated that:

 

    maintaining the present group operation under a holding company will be necessary in order to proceed with the structural reform that would revise NTT East and NTT West cost structures by reallocating personnel within the NTT group and making use of outsourcing companies,

 

   

from the standpoint of maximizing corporate value (shareholder profits), the NTT group management apportions each group company’s business areas such that (i) in fields where new markets need to be

 

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developed, such as Internet-related business, each company is free to decide its own business strategy while taking advantage of its own strengths, even if this involves competition among NTT group companies; (ii) in the remaining fields, group operations are carried out on the principle of avoiding duplication of resources,

 

    the simultaneous holding of executive positions between local companies (NTT East and NTT West) and NTT Com or our company is not implemented currently and will remain unimplemented, from the viewpoint of fair competition, and

 

    decisions on NTT’s investment ratio of NTT Com and our company and the simultaneous holding of executive positions will continue to be considered from the standpoint of maximizing shareholders profits, while fully respecting the autonomy in actual business operations of each NTT group company and taking into account operational necessities and stock market trends, as the market and other environmental factors surrounding the NTT group are rapidly changing.

 

Fair Competition

 

The promotion of fair competition has been a key issue in the telecommunications business field since the enforcement of the Basic Law on the Formation of An Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society in January 2001. To that end, the amendments to the Telecommunications Business Law in 2001 introduced the asymmetric regulation, as described above, and added to the purpose of the law the promotion of fair competition in the telecommunications business. In addition, MIC and the Fair Trade Commission jointly published in November 2001 the Guidelines for Promotion of Competition in the Telecommunications Business Field for the purpose of the Antimonopoly Law and the Telecommunications Business Law in order, principally, to enhance the transparency of telecommunications carriers, to clarify actual practices for which telecommunications carriers having market power are prohibited and to clarify practices leading to orders to change charges or orders to improve business activities under the Telecommunications Business Law.

 

On June 6, 2002, MIC’s study group on new business models and grand design of the competitive environments for the new information and communications era compiled and released its final report regarding how competitive environments in the telecommunications business fields should be established in the broadband age. The report indicates the necessity of introducing new regulations in order to facilitate participation of content providers, portal site providers and Internet service providers to the i-mode service market. In addition, equal treatment among content providers has been required by the aforementioned joint guidelines published by MIC and the Fair Trade Commission. In November 2002, we started providing Internet service providers with open access to the interface with our PDC-P packet network used for i-mode-compatible PDC handsets. Open access to the interface with our IMT-2000 packet network used for FOMA i-mode handsets has also been allowed since March 2003.

 

The Right to Set Charge for Calls

 

In November 2002, in connection with an application by Heisei Denden to MIC concerning terms and conditions of interconnection between Heisei Denden’s telecommunications facilities and our telecommunications facilities, MIC decided, following a recommendation by the Telecommunications Dispute Settlement Commission, that it is appropriate for Heisei Denden to set user charges for calls generated from Heisei Denden’s facilities to our facilities. This principle will be applied to interconnections among other local operators, except NTT East and NTT West, and mobile operators. This is a case of a fixed line operator being given the right to set charges for calls made from fixed line phones to cellular phones. In addition, in December 2002, MIC set up a study group regarding the setting of charges with respect to intermediate interconnection services and calls made from IP telephones to cellular phones.

 

As a consequence, in June 2003, it was announced in the study group report and the administrative policies of MIC that the charges for inter-exchange calls (outbound calls from the fixed-line telephones of NTT East and NTT West to cellular phones connected via the facilities of inter-exchange operators) will be set by inter-

 

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exchange operators if the caller selects the inter-exchange operator for each call, and the charges for calls made from IP phones to cellular phones will be set by the IP phone operator. Following this announcement, intermediate interconnection services were introduced in April 2004. While, as a transitional measure, mobile phone operators were allowed to set user charges for the portion of an inter-exchange call serviced by mobile phone operators during the year ended March 31, 2005, effective April 2005, interconnection fees have been applied instead for the said portion of an inter-exchange call.

 

Radio Spectrum Use

 

The study group on policies concerning the effective radio spectrum use of MIC that was established in January 2002, published its first report in December 2002. Its proposals included the introduction of a compensation scheme for licensees who shoulder losses resulting from a short-term reallocation of spectrum or a shift to fiber-optic cables instead of an alternative spectrum. That proposal was reflected in the Amendments to the Radio Law that passed the Diet in May 2003. The report also proposed that a comparative examination system based on market principles and licensing procedures is desirable instead of an auction system which could seriously hinder effective use of radio spectrums as shown by the extremely high bidding that occurred in various European countries. The report also proposed deregulation on experimental radio stations. In September 2003 and December 2003, the study group published its second and third reports, including discussion of such topics as an after-the-fact registration system (including exemption from prior licensing) primarily for public wireless LAN services, and discussions about cost burdens. They released a final report October 2004 proposing basic policy regarding amendment of the scheme for spectrum user fee. In this report, in order to secure the fairness of the burden for spectrum user fee imposed to every licensee, reexamination of the fee scheme for each type of radio station and imposition of spectrum user fee charged depending on areas and ranges of spectrum used as a radio spectrum exclusive for wide-range areas (a frequency mainly used in radio stations which are built considerably in wide-range area by same licensee) were incorporated. Also, in order to bridge the digital divide, a system to financially assist, with a certain criteria, the expense of the cable transmission line to the mobile base station in rural area and allocation of funds to the research and development about effective use of spectrum are incorporated. Those proposed measure was approved and materialized in Diet in October 2005, and it was reflected in the amended Radio Law proclaimed and enforced in November of the same year (reexamination of the charging scheme was enforced in December of the same year).

 

Evaluation of Competition in the Telecommunications Field

 

In July 2003, MIC’s “study group on methods for evaluating competition in the telecommunications fields as IP evolves” compiled a report, in which it was mentioned that the state of competition in the market needs to be adequately monitored to ensure free and fair competition amongst carriers; that it is indispensable to introduce methods for evaluating competition; and that the evaluation process will be divided in the three phases of definition of business fields to be monitored, definition of markets, and evaluation of state of competition.

 

Based on this proposal, MIC announced its “basic approach of competition review in the telecommunications field” and “details of the implementation for the year ended March 31, 2004 of the evaluation of the state of competition in the telecommunications field” in November 2003. In the “basic approach of competition review in the telecommunications field”, five business fields, including mobile communications, were identified as areas subject to evaluation. Analysis and evaluation on the state of competition will first be made based on an analysis using quantitative indices, and in the event it is judged that progress of competition cannot be sufficiently achieved with quantitative analysis only, qualitative analysis, including factors affected by circumstances that are indicated by qualitative indices, will also be employed., The area of Internet access service was defined as one of the fields subject to evaluation for the year ended March 31, 2004. In October 2004, MIC announced “FY2004 details for implementation of competition review in the telecommunications field”, in which, in addition to Internet access services, mobile communications and IP telephone services were added to the fields subject for evaluation for the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

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In July 2005, MIC announced “competition review in the telecommunications field for fiscal 2004”. In this report, MIC states that while no single carrier is exercising control over the mobile phone and PHS markets in Japan, there is fear that several carriers could collude to exercise market control.

 

Mobile Number Portability

 

In November 2003, MIC established a “study group on Mobile Number Portability” to carry out studies on this matter, and in its final report prepared in April 2004 and guidelines issued in May 2004, the study group concluded that it would be appropriate to introduce Mobile Number Portability as early as possible during the year ending March 31, 2007. Thereafter, the Information and Communications Council issued its response to the proposed amendments to the ministerial order in January 2006 and the order was amended in February. As a result, Mobile Number Portability must be introduced by November 1, 2006. The Fair Trade Commission announced its “views on Mobile Number Portability in relation to antimonopoly law”, in order to address the implications on the antimonopoly law resulting from possible consultations or arrangements amongst telecommunications carriers concerning the concrete method of implementing Mobile Number Portability, prevent behaviors in violation of the said law, and thereby contribute to promoting fair and free competition in the mobile phone market.

 

The Universal Service Fund System

 

In November 2005, MIC announced its response with respect to the report on the universal service fund system, and it was decided that in order to maintain subscriber telephones of the NTT regional companies, carriers connecting with the NTT regional companies would share cost burdens in accordance with their ratio of telecommunication numbers handled. The universal service fund system was introduced in June 2003, but in the three years following its introduction, through 2005, no funds were actually utilized. The ministerial order amended to reflect the above response of MIC was promulgated on April 1, 2006, and DoCoMo is expected to start paying its share of the costs in the year ending March 31, 2007.

 

The Other Recent Discussions

 

MIC established the Study Group for Telecommunication Numbers in the IP Age in order to deliberate how telecommunication numbers should be handled in light of the development of IP networks; the study group issued its first report in August 2005. Subsequent deliberations focused on telecommunication numbers for FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) services, and the study group submitted a draft of its second report in April 2006, with a final draft expected thereafter. Moreover, starting in October 2005, MIC established the Panel on Competition Rules as IP Evolves for the purpose of clarifying basic policy regarding competition rules as IP evolves and the direction in which deliberations will proceed with respect to connection and rate policy. Deliberations are moving forward with September 2006 as a target for submission of the panel’s report.

 

In December 2005, MIC asked for public comments regarding environmental changes for mobile phone operators and the government’s response going forward. In light of the opinions that it received, MIC has been carrying out deliberations with a goal of amending its Guidelines on Application of the Telecommunications Business Law and Radio Law with Respect to MVNOs in mid-2006.

 

In January 2006, for the purpose of the provision of a variety of services to the Japanese people, MIC assembled a group of specialists under its auspices, and formed the Panel Regarding Communications and Broadcasting, which began deliberations in January 2006. The main issues the panel is considering are (1) regulations and competition in the age of communications and broadcast convergence, (2) NHK, (3) the telecommunications industry and NTT in the age of communications and broadcast convergence, and (4) the broadcast industry.

 

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Information Security Management

 

With the full implementation in April 2005 of the Law for the Protection of Personal Information, we established the position of Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and strengthened the system for protection of personal information, and we are making effort to construct a company-wide information security management system.

 

We make effort to prevent personal information leaks by handling and managing all terminals and external storage devices handling personal information, training our employees, instructing and supervising all entities to which we outsource services, and strengthening the security technology in all our systems.

 

Law to Prevent Unauthorized Use of Mobile Phones

 

In April 2006, with the enforcement of the Law to Prevent Unauthorized Use of Mobile Phones, we coped with imposition of identification confirmation and recording the documents verifying the customer’s proof of identity at the time of new contracts and reviewed an operative manual in order to comply with the law as a mobile telephone operator. In addition, we carry out the training for all the members performing duties such as identification confirmation and make an effort to ensure proper operation of such duties.

 

Relationship with NTT

 

NTT is our parent company and owned 62.2% of our voting rights as of March 31, 2006. The Government of Japan, through the Minister of Finance, owned 38.5% of the voting rights of NTT as of the same date. The Government, acting through MIC, also regulates the activities of NTT.

 

The NTT group is the largest provider of wireline and wireless voice, data, Internet and related telecommunications services in Japan and operates one of the largest telecommunications networks in the world. The NTT group’s main business is providing nationwide telecommunications services including voice transmission services, data transmission services, leased circuit services, system integration services and other services. As a holding company, NTT is directly responsible for the overall strategy of the NTT group. NTT is also responsible for basic research and development for its group companies.

 

On July 1, 1999, NTT was reorganized into a holding company structure. The former NTT parent company transferred its local and long-distance businesses to three new wholly-owned subsidiaries: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, and NTT Com Corporation. NTT East and NTT West operate regional telecommunications services in eastern Japan and western Japan, respectively, and NTT Com operates long distance telecommunications and other network services throughout Japan. NTT Com also offers international telecommunications services. We continue to be a direct subsidiary of NTT after the reorganization.

 

Although NTT owned 62.2% of our voting rights as of March 31, 2006, we conduct our day-to-day business operations independently of NTT and its other subsidiaries. All transactions between us and each of NTT and its subsidiaries and affiliates are conducted on an arm’s length basis. In the year ended March 31, 2006, we had sales of ¥60,746 million to NTT and its subsidiaries and had cost of services, selling, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditures of ¥281,188 million, ¥155,152 million and ¥71,897 million, respectively, to NTT and its other subsidiaries, compared to sales of ¥32,669 million and cost of services, selling, general and administrative expenses and capital expenditures of ¥272,659 million, ¥210,590 million and ¥71,896 million, respectively, in the year ended March 31, 2005. We also had receivables of ¥21,289 million from NTT and its subsidiaries and payables of ¥81,436million to NTT and its subsidiaries at March 31, 2006, compared to ¥22,990 million and ¥87,458 million at March 31, 2005. In conjunction with the reorganization of NTT into a holding company, we now pay NTT at fair market rates for the fundamental research and development conducted by NTT on our behalf as well as fees and charges for any other services or benefits that are provided to us by NTT. In the year ended March 31, 2006, total payments by us to NTT amounted to ¥17 billion.

 

In order to ensure fair competition in the mobile telecommunications business, the MPT in April 1992 established the following conditions of separation on NTT (which was then in operation of the fixed line telephone services) and us (which remain applicable):

 

    To the extent possible, we must establish transmission lines for our network independent of NTT. In the event that we use NTT transmission lines, the terms and conditions for such use shall be the same as those for our competitors.

 

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    NTT must not favor us in any transactions between NTT and us. The terms and conditions for our use of NTT utility poles, access to NTT’s network, access to NTT research and development and similar matters should be the same as for our competitors.

 

    All former NTT employees transferred to us were required to be permanent employees, rather than being seconded from NTT.

 

    We were to plan to have our shares listed and NTT’s ownership in us reduced approximately five years after incorporation.

 

    We must not engage in joint procurement with NTT so as not to use NTT’s purchasing power with the objective of obtaining favorable treatment or pricing from its suppliers and manufacturers.

 

At the time of separation from NTT, all trademarks and service marks for our products developed by NTT, other than the “NTT DoCoMo” trademark, the “DoCoMo” trademark and the “NTT DoCoMo” service mark, were assigned to us. If NTT’s ownership of our shares is substantially reduced, we may not be able to continue to use the trademarks and service marks that include “NTT”. Patents, utility model rights and design rights are shared equally with NTT. While certain rights to programs concerning wireless telecommunications systems were assigned by NTT to us, NTT owns the rights to other programs concerning wireless telecommunications systems and grants us licenses to use such rights. Since the separation, NTT and DoCoMo have each retained rights resulting from their own research and development. When we desire to use NTT’s technology, we are required to pay royalties equal to those other wireless telecommunications companies would pay for the use of such technology, and such technology is available equally to us and our competitors. We are also required to pay NTT certain basic research and development fees.

 

Although we operate independently of NTT, the following matters, among other things, relating to us are discussed directly with or reported to NTT: matters that are required to be voted on at shareholders’ meetings, including amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, mergers and consolidations, assignments and transfers of business, election and removal of directors and corporate auditors, and appropriation of profits; increases in share capital; investments, including international investments; loans and guarantees; and establishment of businesses plans. In addition, Senior Vice President Sakuo Sakamoto, a full-time employee of NTT, serves part-time on our Board of Directors.

 

The Deregulation Committee (succeeded to by the Regulatory Reform Committee), an advisory committee set up by the decision of the Japanese Cabinet dated December 20, 1997, issued a report on December 15, 1998, with respect to government deregulation in a number of sectors of the Japanese economy. This report recommended the complete privatization of NTT at some point in the future, together with the elimination of monopolies in the regional telecommunications markets, and recommended that effective action should be taken to promote substantive competition between NTT East and NTT West. This report also included a recommendation that in the future the reorganized NTT be required to reduce its ownership of our shares to the level where competition between us and NTT’s two regional telephone companies is facilitated. On March 30, 1999, the Government revised its Three-year Program for Promoting Deregulation stating, among other things, that, based on the Deregulation Committee’s report and in connection with NTT’s ownership of our shares, it would carefully watch competition between us and NTT’s two regional telephone companies. On March 31, 2000, in its decision to further revise the Three-year Program, the Government stated that it would continue to consider NTT’s ownership of our shares taking into account the competition among cellular phone companies and the competition between us and NTT’s two regional telephone companies. Furthermore, on December 12, 2000, the Regulatory Reform Committee issued a written opinion stating that NTT’s ownership of our shares should be lowered to the level at which fair competition among us and other NTT companies is secured, and that the “firewall” regulation that restricts the sharing of management and other personnel among us and other NTT companies should be strengthened.

 

On December 21, 2000, the Telecommunications Council, then an advisory committee of the MPT, issued its first formal report concerning initiatives to promote competition in the telecommunications industry and to

 

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promote information technology generally. In this report, the Telecommunications Council stated its view that NTT’s ownership of our shares should be reduced as much as possible through the listing of us on foreign stock exchanges, among other means, and that there should not be common directors of NTT and DoCoMo.

 

The Government, on March 30, 2001, launched its Three-year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform. In that program the Government expected NTT as well as NTT East and NTT West would prepare and publish a voluntary action program for promoting competition, including a realization of competition within the NTT group by decreasing NTT’s ownership percentage in our shares. In response, on October 25, 2001, NTT together with NTT East and NTT West announced “NTT’s Strategy concerning Current Management Issues” and stated in that release that simultaneous holding of executive positions between NTT East or NTT West and our company would remain unimplemented and that NTT’s investment ratio of our company and the simultaneous holding of executive positions would continue to be considered from the standpoint of maximizing its shareholders profits, taking into account operational necessities and stock market trends. On October 29, 2002, NTT made a report to MIC on the current status of implementation of the voluntary action plan released in October 2001. In the report, NTT stated that it sold 551,000 shares of our company in July 2002, in conjunction with our planned share reacquisition and that the system of concurrent appointment of directors for NTT and our company was discontinued at the general meeting of shareholders in June 2001.

 

In June 2006, an advisory panel on the future of telecommunications and broadcasting issued its final report. The report proposed that, in order to promote fair competition in the telecommunication industry, the MIC undertake a comprehensive review related to telecommunication by 2010. The study group also proposed that, keeping issues such as the abolishment of regulations on the scope of business of NTT East and NTT West, the abolishment of the holding company, and the separation of equity links etc. within the scope of the review, the panel take necessary measures to understand the issues and start necessary investigations immediately. In June 2006, NTT issued a statement in response to this report that, with the aim of establishing a safe and secure next-generation network under the current structure and providing optical services to approximately 30 million customers by 2010, NTT will make its utmost effort to realize their medium-term management strategies, and that NTT cannot accept the proposal as it may disturb the smooth promotion of their medium term management strategies.

 

The Government of Japan has not decided what action, if any, it will take with respect to NTT’s ownership of our shares. NTT has declared its view that its ownership of our shares does not have any adverse effects on fair competition and that it intends to maintain its ownership percentage in us at 51% or above.

 

NTT has entered into agreements with each of DoCoMo, NTT East and NTT West and certain other subsidiaries that provide for NTT to receive compensation for performing basic research and development and for providing management and administrative services. NTT also receives dividends when dividends are declared by its subsidiaries, including DoCoMo.

 

Property

 

Our property includes our Tokyo headquarters, eight regional headquarters and 66 branch and sales offices. As of March 31, 2006, we and our regional subsidiaries owned 2,859,638 square meters of land and 1,562,478 square meters of office space, buildings containing switching centers, company dormitories and warehouses throughout Japan. In addition, as of March 31, 2006, we leased approximately 5,688,216 square meters of land mainly for base stations and transmission facilities.

 

Additional information can be found in “Capital Expenditures” of Item 5.B.

 

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Employees

 

At March 31, 2006, we had 21,646 employees representing an increase of 119 employees since March 31, 2005. This increase was attributable to the expansion of the number of entities subject to consolidation. Approximately 50% of the full-time employees at DoCoMo and the eight regional subsidiaries previously worked for NTT. At March 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003 we had 21,527, 21,241, and 20,792 employees, respectively. The average number of temporary employees for the year ended March 31, 2006 was 4,575.

 

Of our 21,646 full-time employees at March 31, 2006, 1,447 were employed as staff at headquarters, while the rest were engaged in business operations, such as sales, research and development and related matters. Also, at March 31, 2006, approximately 400 employees were working at foreign consolidated companies.

 

We consider our level of remuneration, non-wage benefits, including our employee share ownership program, working conditions and other allowances, including lump-sum payments and annuities to employees upon retirement, to be generally competitive with those offered in Japan by other large enterprises. We have an extensive training program for new employees. To increase incentives, the NTT group implemented a bonus plan based on overall business performance and personal results. The general retirement age has been 60.

 

Most of our full-time non-management employees are members of ALL NTT WORKERS UNION OF JAPAN. We consider our relationship with such unions to be excellent. We have never had a strike.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

We have initiated normal actions relating to the collection of telecommunications charges and other legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business and are not involved in any litigation and have not been involved in other legal proceedings in the preceding twelve months from the date of this document that, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our financial position or profitability.

 

C. Organizational Structure.

 

As of March 31, 2006, NTT, our parent company, is our largest shareholder and owned 62.2% of our outstanding voting shares. We conduct our business together with our 99 subsidiaries and 13 affiliates which together constitute the largest wireless telecommunications services provider in Japan based on number of subscribers. Our most significant subsidiaries are our eight regional subsidiaries, each of which operates in a region of Japan.

 

The following table sets forth certain information on our significant subsidiaries as of March 31, 2006:

 

Name


   Country of Incorporation

   Voting rights owned by the
Company, directly or indirectly


 

NTT DoCoMo Hokkaido, Inc.(1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Tohoku, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Tokai, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Hokuriku, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Kansai, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Chugoku, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Shikoku, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

NTT DoCoMo Kyushu, Inc. (1)

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Service Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Engineering Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Mobile Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Support Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Systems, Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Sentsu, Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Technology, Inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

DoCoMo Business Net, inc.  

   Japan    100.0 %

(1) One of our eight regional subsidiaries.

 

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Other than our eight regional subsidiaries listed above, which are discussed elsewhere in this annual report, the eight main consolidated subsidiaries and their lines of business are: DoCoMo Service Inc., a company that collects charges on our behalf; DoCoMo Engineering Inc., which is engaged in the construction and maintenance of facilities; DoCoMo Mobile Inc., which repairs handsets and related cellular equipment used by subscribers; DoCoMo Support Inc., which render office services such as call center services; DoCoMo Systems, Inc., which develops, maintains and operates our fundamental systems; DoCoMo Sentsu, Inc., which render ancillary services for our satellite phone business; DoCoMo Technology, Inc., which develops software and provides support services regarding field tests; and DoCoMo Business Net, inc., which operates and provides support for agency sales.

 

Relationship Between Us and Our Eight Regional Subsidiaries

 

Each of our eight regional subsidiaries operates largely independently of us and each other and each is directly responsible for the operations in its specific region. However, we are responsible for coordinating, establishing guidelines for and centralizing control over certain matters to ensure that nationwide services are available to our subscribers and to enhance the synergies achieved as a group.

 

Matters coordinated as a group include (i) our medium- and long-term management strategies and business plans as a group, (ii) tariffs, (iii) basic customer service standards, (iv) basic working terms and conditions for employees, (v) management personnel related matters, and (vi) consolidated accounting matters. We also establish guidelines for matters such as nationwide network development strategies and network maintenance and service standards, nationwide sales and marketing and designs for facilities.

 

We retain central control over matters such as the use of intellectual property and operations systems. With respect to service marks, the usage rights we control which grant licenses to each of our eight regional subsidiaries allow them unlimited use of the service marks. Similarly, we control all of our patents, know-how and other intellectual property. Each of us may use the results of research and development as well as the patents, know-how and other intellectual property rights we own without royalties, since the research and development costs are shared among ourselves. However, our eight regional subsidiaries may not sublicense such use to any third parties, all licensing and sublicensing being directly controlled by us.

 

Other areas of our operations over which we retain central control include, for example: (i) basic arrangements with NTT and NCCs (e.g., development and use of infrastructure facilities and agreements relating to interconnection); (ii) the coordination of matters to be reported to NTT and those legally required to be notified to MIC; (iii) spectrum matters; (iv) procurement, price negotiations and other business with handset and network equipment manufacturers; (v) traffic estimates, investment plans and network control; (vi) product and system related development; (vii) information systems management; and (viii) technical training of our personnel.

 

With respect to operating systems such as ALADIN, the procurement system and the accounting system, we and our eight regional subsidiaries share the use and expenses of such systems but we control their development and administration.

 

In order to increase the strength of the NTT DoCoMo brand name and identity, our services, pricing, handsets and customer services are fairly uniform throughout Japan.

 

D. Property, Plant and Equipment.

 

The information required by this item is set forth in Item 4.B. of this annual report.

 

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

 

Not applicable.

 

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Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.

 

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in this annual report.

 

This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report.

 

We will discuss the following matters in this Item 5;

 

    Our Business

 

    Trends in the Mobile Communications Industry in Japan

 

    Operating Trends

 

    Operating Results for the years ended March 31, 2006 and 2005

 

    Segment Information

 

    Recent Accounting Pronouncements and Critical Accounting Policies

 

    Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

    Research and Development

 

    Trend Information

 

    Others

 

A. Operating Results.

 

Our Business

 

We are the largest cellular network operator in Japan, in terms of both revenues and number of subscribers. As of March 31, 2006, we had approximately 51.14 million subscribers, which represented 55.7% of all cellular subscribers in Japan. We earn revenues and generate cash primarily by offering a variety of wireless voice and data communications services and products. In cellular services, which account for the majority of our revenues, we provide voice communication services as well as “i-mode” services, which enable our subscribers to send and receive e-mails and to access various sources of information including the Internet via our nationwide packet communications network. In addition to cellular services, we also presently provide Personal Handyphone System (“PHS”) services, “Quickcast” paging services, and wireless LAN services nationwide.

 

We have always been the market leader in the Japanese mobile communications industry as the demand for mobile communications has grown very rapidly. Now that a cellular phone has already become a part of daily life in Japan, it is difficult to replay the speedy growth we experienced in the first decade of our operations. However, in order to achieve sustainable growth and establish new sources of revenues, we are committed to upgrade our cellular communications services from a telecom infrastructure to a life-style infrastructure so that cellular services will be rooted even more deeply in daily lives of our subscribers and further enrich their lives and businesses.

 

Trends in the Mobile Communications Industry in Japan

 

The mobile communications market in Japan saw a 5.01 million net increase in cellular and PHS subscribers in the year ended March 31, 2006. As of March 31, 2006, the total number of subscriptions reached 96.48 million and the market penetration rate reached 76.1%. However, the annual growth rate of subscriptions has declined gradually from 7.9% to 6.2% to 5.5% in the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. Given the maturity of the market and the declining population trend, we expect that the growth rate of subscriptions in Japan will continue to decline in the future.

 

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As of March 31, 2006, cellular services were provided by three network operators in Japan, including us. In addition to providing the cellular services, the network operators also collaborate with handset vendors to develop handsets compatible with the specifications of their wireless services and then sell them to subscribers through agent resellers. It has been a common practice for the network operators to pay sales commissions to agent resellers and later recover the initial expenditures by future service charges collected from their new subscribers. As for the cellular services, since the year 2001, when we first launched “FOMA” service, our third generation (“3G”) cellular services based on W-CDMA technology, our competitors have followed us in the launch of their 3G services. The network operators have been in an intense competition in pursuit of the acquisition of new subscribers and the migration of their current subscribers to 3G services. As of March 31, 2006, the number of 3G service subscriptions in Japan reached 48.33 million, which represented 52.7% of the total number of cellular subscriptions.

 

Competition among the network operators in Japan has become more intense under present market conditions as the needs of subscribers diversify and growth in new subscriptions slows. The network operators in Japan have been eager to differentiate themselves as they pursue the acquisition of new subscriptions and encourage the migration of their current subscribers to 3G services. The differentiation efforts include:

 

    Launching of new services such as providing platforms for credit settlement, music downloading, news casting, walkie-talkie, video-calling, e-commerce and auction;

 

    Equipping new handsets with various new functions including a TV tuner, radio tuner, music player, two-dimensional bar-code reader, contact-less IC (Integrated Circuit) chip capability or GPS (Global Positioning System);

 

    Providing billing arrangements to attract or maintain subscribers, including flat rate for packet communications or flat rate for calls among subscribers of the same operator;

 

    Partnering with entities of different industries including retail, airlines, railways and financial institutions.

 

Recently, domestic deregulation of the industry has accelerated competition among cellular network operators, who have already implemented discount of their service charges. The Ministry of Internal affairs and Communications (“MIC”) announced that the Mobile Number Portability, which enables subscribers to switch subscriptions from one operator to another without changing their telephone number, will be introduced by November 2006. The MIC also approved allocations of radio spectrums to new entrants planning to launch cellular services. Those entrants are planning to start their cellular services no later than the end of March 2007. The introduction of the Mobile Number Portability and the entrance of new competitors are expected to encourage many subscribers to switch their cellular subscriptions and to have a material impact on our results of operations, as increased competition puts pressure on rates, margins, and subscriber churn.

 

It is possible that innovations in Internet technology have a material impact on mobile communications industry as well. IP (Internet Protocol) phone, voice communications based on IP technology, is becoming a popular means of fixed line communications as a result of the penetration of local broadband access. If IP phone technology becomes popular in the mobile communications field, it is expected to have a material impact on the revenue structure of current mobile communications industry. In April 2006, digital terrestrial TV broadcasting dedicated to mobile terminals was launched and is expected to be the first step in the future convergence of broadcasting and mobile communications. In the field of high-speed wireless networks, WiMAX is being standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. In Japan, some network operators and other entities have started or are preparing to start connection experiments to launch commercial WiMAX services in the future.

 

Thus, we expect that the competitive environment for the mobile communications market will become increasingly severe in the future due to regulatory, technology and market changes.

 

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Operating Trends

 

This section describes our operating trends from the perspectives of revenues and expenses.

 

Revenues

 

Wireless Services

 

We earn our wireless services revenues primarily from fixed monthly plan charges, usage charges for outgoing calls, revenues from incoming calls including interconnection charges and charges for optional value-added services and features. Cellular services, which earn the majority of our overall revenues, consist of the third generation FOMA services and the second generation “mova” services. FOMA’s packet transmission technology allows our subscribers to send and receive more packets per minute, and the per-packet charges for data communications of FOMA services are set lower than those of mova services. Because we believe that FOMA’s advanced technological capability enables us to provide our subscribers with more convenient and competitive services, we aim to induce our mova subscribers to migrate to FOMA services as well as to acquire new FOMA subscriptions. As of March 31, 2006, the number of FOMA subscriptions reached 23.46 million or 45.9% of our total number of cellular subscriptions, the largest number of 3G subscriptions among cellular operators in Japan. Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues include voice revenues and packet communications revenues. Voice revenues derive from a combination of set monthly fees for service and additional fees depending on the minutes of connection time. Our packet communications revenues, which are currently dominated by i-mode revenues, accounted for a greater portion of our wireless services revenues in the year ended March 31, 2006, representing 26.1% of wireless services revenues, than 24.7% and 23.8% in the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. As a result of continued migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services, the portion of FOMA packet communications revenues increased to 54.8% of all the packet communications revenues in the year ended March 31, 2006 from 24.6% in and 4.7% in the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

 

Two of our top operational priorities are to maintain our current subscribers and the level of our average monthly revenue per unit (“ARPU”) despite the increasingly competitive market environment in which we are operating, including the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability in the current fiscal year. Our cellular services revenues are essentially a function of our number of active subscriptions multiplied by ARPU.

 

While the number of wireless subscriptions still continues to grow in Japan, its growth rate has slowed down. Our number of subscriptions also continues to grow while its growth rate has similarly declined. Our subscriber churn rate or contract termination rate is an important performance index for us to achieve retention of our current subscribers. The churn rate has an impact on our number of subscriptions and in particular affects our number of net additional subscriptions for a given period. Efforts to reduce our churn rate through discount programs and other customer incentive programs can increase our revenues by increasing our number of net additional subscriptions, but they can also have an adverse impact on our revenues by decreasing the amount of revenues we are able to collect from each subscriber, on average. In order to keep our churn rate low, we have focused on subscriber retention by implementing certain measures including offering discounts for long-term subscribers. During the year ended March 31, 2006, we introduced simplified and easier to understand billing plans common to both FOMA and mova services, upgraded our “Ichinen Discount” program to further benefit our long-term subscribers, expanded “Family Discount”, and increased the number of FOMA billing plans that can be combined with “pake-hodai”, a flat-rate packet billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage. We also continued to release handsets focusing on attractive design and reasonable pricing. In the year ended March 31, 2006, we released handsets such as “Kids’ PHONE” designed specifically for children and “Raku Raku PHONE Simple” universally designed for elderly users in an effort to pioneer such new market segments.

 

ARPU is calculated by dividing various revenue items included in operating revenues from our wireless services, such as monthly charges, calling charges and packet communications charges, from designated services by the number of active subscriptions to the relevant services. Accordingly, the calculation of ARPU excludes revenues that are not representative of monthly average usage such as subscription activation fees. We believe

 

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that our ARPU figures calculated in this way provide useful information to analyze the trend of monthly average usage of our subscribers over time and the impacts of changes in our billing arrangements. The revenue items included in the numerators of our ARPU figures are based on our U.S. GAAP results of operations. The ARPU calculation is described in “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Cellular System Usage”. ARPU (FOMA+mova) has fallen over the past few years, due primarily to our introduction of billing arrangements with reduced or flat rates intended to maintain our current subscribers, and the increase in the number of FOMA billing plans that can be combined with our flat-rate packet billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage. The shrinking trend of ARPU also resulted from further penetration of cellular phones into lower usage subscriber segments and a large number of subscribers using i-mode services instead of voice calls. In order to boost ARPU, we introduced new services such as “i-channel”, a convenient and easy-to-use information push-delivery service, and “Push Talk”, walkie-talkie style communication service, in the year ended March 31, 2006. We also introduced more handsets compatible with international roaming in order to increase roaming revenues. Furthermore, we are promoting cellular usage other than voice calls such as video-calling or video-clip downloading. Through the year ended March 31, 2004, growth in the number of our subscriptions had more than offset decline in ARPU caused by factors such as rate reductions, resulting in the net growth of our revenues. The decelerated growth rate of subscriptions did not cover the declines in ARPU in the year ended March 31, 2005, which resulted in a decrease in cellular services revenues. In the year ended March 31, 2006, we achieved a slight increase in the cellular services revenues from the prior fiscal year owing to a slower decline in ARPU. We expect the positive effects of the moderate growth in the number of subscriptions to continue to offset the negative effects from declines in ARPU, and consequently to help us maintain a level of cellular services revenues for the year ending March 31, 2007, similar to that of the prior fiscal year. We intend to achieve sustainable growth by establishing new sources of revenues as soon as possible while we maintain the current level of revenues by further strengthening our competitiveness in the cellular business.

 

Equipment Sales

 

We collaborate with handset vendors to develop handsets compatible with our cellular services, and then sell them to our subscribers through agent resellers. We also pay agent resellers sales commissions and later recover such expenditures through service charges paid by our subscribers.

 

Revenues from equipment sales, primarily sales of handsets and other telecommunications equipment, accounted for 9.9% of total operating revenues for the year ended March 31, 2006. We adopted Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) 01-09, “Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor to a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendor’s Products),” and therefore account for a portion of the sales commissions that we pay to agent resellers, the main component of which is handset sales incentive, as a reduction in equipment sales revenues and selling, general and administrative expenses. As a result, structurally, the cost of equipment sold exceeds equipment sales revenues, thus sale of an extra handset has a negative impact on our operating income. As the migration of mova subscribers to more sophisticated FOMA service progresses, revenue per handset before application of EITF 01-09 has increased. However, revenue per handset after EITF 01-09 declined in the year ended March 31, 2006 due to the increase of handset sales incentives to be deducted from the gross handset revenues. Our net handset sales revenues declined because of a combination of the increase of handset sales incentives and the decrease in the number of handsets sold. The decline in the number of handsets sold derived partly from the decline in the number of new subscriptions and partly from our campaign to slow down the handset upgrading cycle by providing members of “DoCoMo Premier Club” with free-of-charge battery packs and the extension of free warranty periods. It is expected that, with the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability, more cellular subscribers will switch their cellular subscriptions from one operator to another, which will result in an increased number of handsets sold, boosting gross handset sales revenues. At the same time, we believe that escalated competition may boost handset sales incentives to be deducted from gross handset sales revenues, which may ultimately more than offset incremental handset sales revenues derived from the increase in the number of handsets sold and revenue per handset. Because the trend of handset sales is closely interrelated with the cost of handsets sold and sales commissions, you should also refer hereafter to the “Cost of Equipment Sold” and “Selling, General and Administrative Expenses” section below.

 

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Expansion of Our Business Domain

 

In addition to the further buildup of our competitiveness in the cellular business, we are actively involved in expansion of our business domain. The most phenomenal is the establishment of our “Osaifu-Keitai*”, or mobile wallet and the subsequent launch of our credit services business. We seek to reposition our cellular phone as a tool more deeply rooted in daily life by enabling transactional settlements with a cellular phone equipped with contact-less IC chip. In December 2005, we launched a credit card brand called “iD” for card issuers. Our strategic partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited enables a card holder to make a speedy payment just by placing our “Osaifu-Keitai” on dedicated reader/writers at stores. Another strategic partnership with East Japan Railway Company (“JR East”) turns our “Osaifu-Keitai” into a railway ticket when “Osaifu-Keitai” becomes compatible with JR East’s “Mobile Suica” service.

 

In April 2006, we launched our DCMX credit card issuing services via our “iD” platform as a prospective source of revenues from mobile credit transactions. We believe our mobile credit services, especially for small amount transactions, to be a promising growth business given the comparatively lower penetration of credit card usage in Japan than in the United States and convenience of using a cellular phone for purchases. While it may take some time for the business to grow as a steady and reliable source of income, we will be engaged in establishing our mobile credit services business as soon as possible.

 

Expenses

 

Cost of Services

 

Cost of Services represents the expenses we incur directly in connection with providing our subscribers with wireless communication services and includes the cost for usage of other operators’ networks, maintenance of equipment or facilities, and payroll for employees dedicated to the operations and maintenance of our wireless services. Cost of services accounted for 19.0% of our total operating expenses in the year ended March 31, 2006. Communication network charges, which we pay for the use of other operators’ networks or for access charges, occupy the largest part of cost of services, accounting for 49.4%, of the total. The amount of our communication network charges is dependent on the number of our base stations installed and rates set by the other operators. Through the year ended March 31, 2006, our communication network charges steadily declined as a result of our buildup of our own back-bone network to replace circuits leased from NTT. However, in the year ending March 31, 2007, we expect communication network charges to increase slightly due to the further expansion of our FOMA service area and our response to increase in traffic demand.

 

Depreciation and Amortization

 

We expense the acquisition cost of a fixed asset such as telecommunications equipment or a network facility during its estimated useful life as depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization accounted for 18.7% of our operating expenses in the year ended March 31, 2006. Since its launch in 2001, we have expanded our FOMA service network while maintaining our second generation mova network. The steady migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services resulted in FOMA subscribers representing 45.9% of our total cellular subscribers as of March 31, 2006. Although the coverage area of our FOMA network is already almost nationwide in Japan, in order to respond to the market competitiveness caused by the Mobile Number Portability, we will implement following measures, which require certain capital expenditures during the year ending March 31, 2007:

 

    further expansion of both indoor and outdoor FOMA service coverage;

 

    network capacity buildup to respond to an increase in data-traffic following the expansion of our flat-rate packet billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage; and

 

    further enhancement of FOMA network quality including acceleration of its data transmission speed

 


* “Osaifu-Keitai” refers to mobile phones equipped with a contact-less IC chip, as well as useful functions and services enabled by the IC chip. With these functions, a mobile phone can be utilized as an electronic wallet, a credit card, an electronic ticket, a membership card, an airline ticket, among other things.

 

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Although we have been involved with cost saving efforts such as economized procurement, design and installment of low-cost devices, and improvements of construction processes, it may take some more time for such efforts to create a material impact on our depreciation and amortization expenses. As a result, depreciation and amortization are expected to increase in the year ending March 31, 2007. As for our capital expenditures, please refer to “Capital Expenditures” in this Item 5.B.

 

Cost of Equipment Sold

 

Cost of equipment sold arises mainly from our procurement of handsets for sale to our new or current subscribers, which is basically dependent on the number of handsets sold and the purchase price per handset. Cost of equipment sold represented 28.3% of our operating expenses in the year ended March 31, 2006. The purchase price per handset increased due to the increase in sales of more sophisticated FOMA handsets in the migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services. It is expected that this trend of increasing purchase prices per handset will continue as more mova subscribers are expected to migrate to FOMA services. On the other hand, the number of handsets sold declined, which resulted in a slight decrease in the total cost of equipment sold in the year ended March 31, 2006. However, as previously stated in “Equipment Sales” section, more subscribers are expected to switch their subscriptions among network operators following the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability. If the number of handsets sold increase, our total cost of equipment sold is expected to increase as well in the year ending March 31, 2007.

 

We have taken some measures to control the trend of increasing cost of equipment sold. We plan to save FOMA handset development costs by introducing a single-chip LSI and common platforms for handset operating system. We diversified handset vendors, including increasing procurement from overseas vendors, in order to promote competition among manufacturers. We also aim to develop handsets that would match the purpose and usage volume of various subscribers and purchase them at the most reasonable prices. We plan to pursue the possibility of joint procurement of 3G handsets with overseas network operators in the future. We are also engaged in a campaign to slow down the handset upgrading cycle by providing members of “DoCoMo Premier Club” with free-of-charge battery packs and the extension of free warranty periods in order to slash the cost of equipment sold and sales commissions to agent resellers, the latter of which are referred hereinafter.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses represented 34.0% of our total operating expenses in the year ended March 31, 2006. The primary expenses included in our selling, general, and administrative expenses are those related to acquiring new subscribers, the most significant of which are sales commissions paid to agent resellers. The main components of the sales commissions that we pay to agents who sign up new subscribers are a closing commission for each new subscription and volume incentives that vary depending on the number of new subscriptions per agent per month. In addition, we pay agent resellers a commission in the form of handset sales incentives depending on the type of handset a subscriber purchases. Sales commissions differ from region to region due to such factors as the competitive and economic environments in the various regions. Average sales commissions we paid when acquiring a new subscriber who also purchased a handset and when upgrading a handset for a current subscriber and activating the handset were approximately ¥36,000, ¥34,000 and ¥31,000 for the years ended March 31, 2006, 2005, and 2004, respectively. The increase in the average commission per subscription in the year ended March 31, 2006 from the prior fiscal year was mainly due to the increase in the percentage of FOMA handsets, for which the average commission per subscription was approximately ¥9,000 higher than that of mova handsets, among the total number of handsets sold. The average commissions paid for FOMA subscription acquisition or FOMA handset sales and paid for mova subscription acquisition or mova handset sales in the year ended March 31, 2006 were virtually unchanged from the prior fiscal year. We adopted EITF 01-09 and therefore a portion of the sales commissions paid to agent resellers, including handset sales incentives, is recognized as a deduction from equipment sales revenues and selling, general and administrative expenses. Due to the migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services, gross sales commissions before application of EITF 01-09 increased in the year ended March 31, 2006 compared with those in the prior fiscal

 

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year. However, because the increase in handset sales incentives exceeded the increase in the gross sales commissions, the net sales commissions after application of EITF 01-09 decreased in the year ended March 31, 2006. For the year ending March 31, 2007, despite the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability, we plan to control the gross sales commissions at a level similar to that of the prior fiscal year. However, we expect that the net sales commissions after EITF 01-09 will slightly decrease due to an increase in handset sales incentives.

 

Operating Income

 

In the year ended March 31, 2006, because both wireless service revenues and equipment sales decreased, operating revenues decreased. Operating expenses decreased more than operating revenues mainly due to decreases in sales commissions and impairment loss. As a result, operating income increased. The factors contributing to the increase in operating income were as follows:

 

    Although the decrease in ARPU caused by expansion of our rate discount programs continued, it was offset by the increase in our number of subscriptions as a consequence of new customer acquisition and a lowered churn rate, which resulted in a slight increase of cellular services revenues;

 

    The decline in equipment sales revenues, which exceeded the declines in the aggregate of cost of equipment sold and sales commissions due to the decrease in the number of handsets sold, had a negative impact on operating income; and

 

    Operating expenses decreased significantly due to the effect of the impairment of PHS-related assets recorded in the year ended March 31, 2005. As a result, together with the above factors, operating income increased.

 

We expect the year ending March 31, 2007 to be another year of involvement for sustainable growth in the future. Although the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability will accelerate the competitive market environment, we will be engaged in the establishment of new revenue sources such as the credit services business, while continuing to maintain or expand our subscriber base and revenues by providing further benefits to our subscribers. We expect operating revenues to increase slightly and operating income to decrease in the year ending March 31, 2007 for the following reasons;

 

    Cellular services revenues are expected to increase slightly as the increase of our subscriptions will continue to more than offset the decrease in ARPU caused by the expansion of discount programs and flat-rate billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage;

 

    Although cost of equipment sold and sales commissions will increase because of continued migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services and the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability, we plan to manage the increase in such expenses at a level no greater than the increase in equipment sales, so that the impact of increased handset sales on operating income would be minimized; and

 

    The combination of increases in depreciation and amortization and selling, general, and administrative expenses, which will derive from improvement of FOMA network coverage and our after-sales support, is expected to exceed the increase in the cellular services revenues.

 

Under these circumstances, we seek to further reinforce our core cellular business, reduce costs and secure new sources of revenues, in order to achieve sustainable growth.

 

We seek to reinforce our core business, while implementing customer-oriented operations, and maintaining and reinforcing our competitiveness by:

 

    improvement of consultation, support and after-sales services offered to our subscribers;

 

    release of new handsets which respond to customers’ demands; and

 

    efficient expansion of network coverage, e.g., introducing more economical networking equipment.

 

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We seek to reduce costs by:

 

    saving on the development cost of FOMA handsets by developing collective specifications on single-chip LSI and operating system platforms and economized procurement from overseas handset vendors;

 

    efficient allocation of sales commissions on targeted specific market segments; and

 

    reduction of network costs through economized procurement, design and installment of low-cost devices, and improvements of construction processes.

 

We seek to secure new sources of revenues by:

 

    increasing non-traffic revenues by evolving our cellular services into “life-style infrastructure,” tools, through the introduction of new services such as our mobile credit services using “Osaifu-Keitai”;

 

    increasing packet communications revenues through introduction of new services which utilize high speed packet communication of HSDPA technology and promotion of new services such as “i-channel” or “Push-Talk”; and

 

    increasing international services revenues through upgrade of international calling and roaming services and compatible handsets.

 

Other income and expenses

 

As part of our corporate strategy, we have made investments in foreign and domestic companies in businesses that complement our mobile communications business. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Other Business Activities—Investments and Affiliations in Japan” and “—B. Business Overview—Global Businesses—International Investments and Licensing Agreements”. Where our investment is relatively small as a percentage of the investee’s issued and outstanding capital, we include the investment as “marketable securities and other investments” on our consolidated balance sheets. Our results of operations can be affected by impairments of such investments and losses and gains on the sale of such investments. See “- Operating Results for the year ended March 31, 2006—Analysis of operating results for the year ended March 31, 2006 and comparison with the prior fiscal year”. In some cases, the size of our investment as a percentage of the investee’s issued and outstanding capital or other indices of control make the investee our equity-method affiliate. We include equity in net gains or losses of affiliates in our consolidated income, but such amounts are not typically material to our consolidated net income. In the years ended March 31, 2002 and 2003, we experienced material impairments in the value of our investments in equity method affiliates that were included in equity in net losses of affiliates in our consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for those years, and it is possible that we could experience material impairments with respect to our equity method investments again in the future. See “- Critical Accounting Policies—Impairment of investments”. We may also experience material gains or losses on the sale of our interest in affiliates, as we did in the year ended March 31, 2005 with respect to our interest in AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. (“AT&T Wireless”). See “- Operating Results for the year ended March 31, 2005—Analysis of operating results for the year ended March 31, 2005 and comparison with the prior fiscal year”. As of March 31, 2006, the total carrying value of our investments in affiliates was ¥174.1 billion, while the total carrying value for investments in marketable equity securities and equity securities accounted for under the cost method was ¥258.0 billion.

 

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Operating Results for the year ended March 31, 2006

 

The following discussion includes analysis of our operating results for the year ended March 31, 2006. The tables below describe selected operating data and income statement data:

 

Key Performance Index

 

     Years ended March 31

 
     2005

   2006

  

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change
(%)


 

Cellular

                      

Subscriptions (thousands)

   48,825    51,144    2,319     4.7  %

FOMA services (thousands)

   11,501    23,463    11,963     104.0  %

mova services (thousands)

   37,324    27,680    (9,644 )   (25.8 )%

i-mode services (thousands)

   44,021    46,360    2,339     5.3  %

Market Share (%) (1)(2)

   56.1    55.7    (0.4 )   —    

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA+mova) (yen/month/contract) (3) (4)

   7,200    6,910    (290 )   (4.0 )%

Voice ARPU (yen/month/contract) (5)

   5,330    5,030    (300 )   (5.6 )%

Packet ARPU(yen/month/contract)

   1,870    1,880    10     0.5  %

i-mode ARPU (yen/month/contract)

   1,870    1,870    —       —    

MOU (FOMA+mova) (minutes/month/contract) (3)(6)

   151    149    (2 )   (1.3 )%

Churn Rate (%) (2)

   1.01    0.77    (0.24 )   —    

(1) Source for other cellular telecommunications operators: Data announced by Telecommunications Carriers Association
(2) Data are calculated including Communication Module Service subscriptions.
(3) Data are calculated excluding Communication Module Services-related revenues and Communication Module Services subscriptions.
(4) ARPU figures for the year ended March 31, 2006 include revenues from international services while those for the prior fiscal year do not. ARPU from international services for the year ended March 31, 2005 was ¥20.
(5) Inclusive of circuit switched data communications.
(6) MOU(Minutes of usage):Average communication time per one month per one user

 

Breakdown of Financial Information

 

     Millions of yen

 
     Years ended March 31

 
     2005

   2006

  

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change (%)

 

Operating Revenues :

                            

Wireless services

   ¥ 4,296,537    ¥ 4,295,856    ¥ (681 )   (0.0 )%

Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues (7)

     4,146,973      4,158,134      11,161     0.3  %

- Voice revenues (8)

     3,086,275      3,038,654      (47,621 )   (1.5 )%

Including: FOMA services (9)

     514,702      1,169,947      655,245     127.3  %

- Packet communications revenues

     1,060,698      1,119,480      58,782     5.5  %

Including: FOMA services (9)

     260,671      613,310      352,639     135.3  %

PHS services revenues

     60,288      40,943      (19,345 )   (32.1 )%

Other revenues

     89,276      96,779      7,503     8.4  %
    

  

  


 

Equipment sales

     548,073      470,016      (78,057 )   (14.2 )%
    

  

  


 

Total operating revenues

     4,844,610      4,765,872      (78,738 )   (1.6 )%
    

  

  


 

 

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     Millions of yen

 
     Years ended March 31

 
     2005

    2006

   

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change (%)

 

Operating Expenses

                              

Cost of services

     740,423       746,099       5,676     0.8  %

Cost of equipment sold

     1,122,443       1,113,464       (8,979 )   (0.8 )%

Depreciation and amortization

     735,423       737,066       1,643     0.2  %

Impairment loss

     60,399       1,071       (59,328 )   (98.2 )%

Selling, general and administrative

     1,401,756       1,335,533       (66,223 )   (4.7 )%
    


 


 


 

Total operating expense

     4,060,444       3,933,233       (127,211 )   (3.1 )%
    


 


 


 

Operating Income

     784,166       832,639       48,473     6.2  %

Other Income (Expense) (10)

     504,055       119,664       (384,391 )   (76.3 )%
    


 


 


 

Income before income taxes, equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries:

     1,288,221       952,303       (335,918 )   (26.1 )%

Income Taxes

     527,711       341,382       (186,329 )   (35.3 )%
    


 


 


 

Income before equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries:

     760,510       610,921       (149,589 )   (19.7 )%

Equity in net losses of affiliates (11)

     (12,886 )     (364 )     12,522     —    

Minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries

     (60 )     (76 )     (16 )   —    
    


 


 


 

Net Income

   ¥ 747,564     ¥ 610,481     ¥ (137,083 )   (18.3 )%
    


 


 


 

 

(7) From the year starting April 1, 2005, Quickcast services revenues, which were presented separately in the past, are included in “Other revenues,” and international services revenues, which were previously included in “Other revenues,” are included in “Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues”. The results for the year ended March 31, 2005 are restated to conform to the presentation for the subsequent fiscal year. However, international services revenues related to FOMA services are not included in FOMA services revenues for the year ended March 31, 2005 because such information was not previously maintained.
(8) Inclusive of circuit switched data communications.
(9) The amount of “Voice revenues” and “Packet communications revenues” of FOMA services for the year ended March 31, 2006 without the above adjustments related to international services revenues was ¥1,156,414 million and ¥612,090 million, respectively.
(10) Includes an aggregate gain on sales of Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Limited (“H3G UK”) and KPN Mobile N.V.(“KPN Mobile”) shares of ¥101,992 million, and a gain on sales of AT&T Wireless shares of ¥501,781 million in the years ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively.
(11) Includes impairment in investment in affiliates of ¥8,612 million in the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

Analysis on operating results for the year ended March 31, 2006 and comparison with the prior fiscal year

 

As of March 31, 2006, the number of our cellular (FOMA+mova) subscriptions reached 51.14 million and increased by 4.7% from 48.82 million at the end of the prior fiscal year. The growth rate of our cellular subscriptions is expected to be decelerated in the future as the growth rate of cellular subscriptions declines in Japan. The number of FOMA subscriptions increased to 23.46 million as of March 31, 2006 from 11.50 million at the end of the prior fiscal year. On the other hand, the number of mova subscriptions, which had started to decrease since the year ended March 31, 2004, decreased by 25.8% to 27.68 million as of March 31, 2006. It is expected that the migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services will continue hereafter. Our market share decreased by 0.4 points to 55.7% as of March 31, 2006. The number of i-mode subscriptions increased by 5.3% to 46.36 million as of March 31, 2006 from 44.02 million at the end of the prior fiscal year.

 

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Aggregate ARPU of cellular (FOMA+mova) service decreased by ¥290 (4.0%) to ¥6,910 in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥7,200 in the prior fiscal year. While voice ARPU decreased by ¥300 (5.6%) to ¥5,030 in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥5,330 in the prior fiscal year, packet ARPU increased by ¥10 (0.5%) to ¥1,880 in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥1,870 in the prior fiscal year. This trend was attributable primarily to an increase in subscribers who subscribe to discount programs, further penetration of cellular phones into lower usage subscriber segments and a large number of subscribers using i-mode services instead of voice calls. The MOU (FOMA+mova) decreased by 2 minutes to 149 minutes from 151 minutes in the prior fiscal year.

 

Our churn rate for cellular subscriptions was 1.01% and 0.77% in the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2006, respectively. We believe that due to various factors, such as the availability of i-mode, the implementation of competitive billing arrangements, customer confidence in our network and services and the introduction of new services, our churn rate has been lower than that of other operators. However, no assurance can be given that our churn rate will continue to decline or remain low.

 

In the year ended March 31, 2006, we implemented various measures to retain our subscribers, such as the introduction of simplified and easy to understand billing plans common to FOMA and mova services, the expansion of our “Family Discount” plan and our flat-rate billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage, upgrade of point loyalty programs, releases of attractive FOMA series handset lineup and the expansion of FOMA coverage area, both indoors and outdoors. These measures resulted in further decline of our low churn rate and contributed to net increase in the number of subscriptions. However, these measures have also had an adverse impact on ARPU. It is expected that the trend of declining ARPU will continue for the near term. We expect that these implementations will contribute to migrating current mova subscribers to and acquiring new subscriptions for our FOMA services, which in turn will promote packet usage or the usage of video-calling services, which we expect to have a positive effect on revenues from FOMA services in the future.

 

Operating revenues decreased by ¥78.7 billion (1.6%) to ¥4,765.9 billion for the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥4,844.6 billion in the prior fiscal year. While wireless service revenues maintained an equivalent level, at ¥4,295.9 billion from ¥4,296.5 billion in the prior fiscal year, equipment sales decreased by ¥78.1 billion (14.2%) to ¥470.0 billion from ¥548.1 billion in the prior fiscal year. As a result, wireless services accounted for 90.1% of operating revenues in the year ended March 31, 2006 compared to 88.7% in the prior fiscal year. Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues increased slightly from the prior fiscal year because of the positive effect from net increase in subscriptions exceeded the negative effect from decline in ARPU. However, decline in revenues from PHS services, which we already decided to terminate in the near term, offset the increased revenues from cellular (FOMA+mova) services, and kept total wireless services revenues at a level equivalent to that of the prior fiscal year. The slight increase in cellular service revenues was a combination of decrease in voice revenues, to ¥3,038.7 billion from ¥3,086.3 billion in the prior fiscal year, and increase in packet communications revenues, to ¥1,119.5 billion from ¥1,060.7 billion in the prior fiscal year. This result demonstrated an increase in revenues from packet usage due to a large number of subscribers using i-mode services instead of voice calls, and introduction of new services such as “i-channel”, through which we intend to promote i-mode usage. Voice revenues from FOMA services doubled to ¥1,169.9 billion, inclusive of international service revenues, from ¥514.7 billion in the prior fiscal year and packet communications revenues also more than doubled to ¥613.3 billion, inclusive of international service revenues as well, from ¥260.7 billion in the prior fiscal year. PHS services revenues decreased by 32.1% to ¥40.9 billion from ¥ 60.3 billion in the prior fiscal year and represented 1.0% of total wireless services revenues. Equipment sales decreased by 14.2% because of decline in the number of handsets sold. We believe that the decline in the sales of handsets arose from the decrease in our number of newly acquired subscriptions, as well as from our campaign to slow down the handset upgrading cycle and to improve customer services such as providing members of “DoCoMo Premier Club” with free-of-charge battery packs.

 

Operating expenses decreased by ¥127.2 billion (3.1%) to ¥3,933.2 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥4,060.4 billion in the prior fiscal year. This decrease resulted mainly from a decrease in sales, general and administrative expenses, including sales commissions, of ¥66.2 billion due to a decline in the number of handsets

 

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sold as well as the effect of an impairment loss, of ¥60.4 billion, of PHS related assets recorded in the prior fiscal year. Cost of services increased by ¥5.7 billion, due to an increased number of cellular base stations installed. Depreciation and amortization increased by ¥1.6 billion owing to the effect of shortened useful lives of assets associated with the renewal of our IT systems.

 

A percentage of operating expenses to operating revenues was improved to 82.5% in the year ended March 31, 2006 from 83.8% in the prior fiscal year. Although decrease in equipment sales owing to decline in the number of handset sold exceeded the decrease in sales, general and administrative expenses, the effect of impairment loss of PHS related assets recorded in the prior fiscal year contributed to the improvement of operating income margin.

 

As a result of the foregoing, our operating income increased by ¥48.5 billion (6.2%) to ¥832.6 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥784.2 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Other income (or expense) includes items such as interest income, interest expense, gains and losses on sale of marketable securities and other investments, and foreign exchange gains and losses. We accounted for ¥119.7 billion as other income in the year ended March 31, 2006. In June 2005, we completed the sale of all of our 20% holding of H3G UK shares based on the Sales and Purchase Agreement signed with Hutchison Whampoa Limited (“HWL”) in May 2004 and recorded “Gain on sale of affiliate shares” of ¥62.0 billion, including reclassification of foreign currency translation of ¥38.2 billion. In October 2005, we also sold all of our 2.2% holding of KPN Mobile shares to Koninklijke KPN N.V. (“KPN”), its parent company, and recorded a gain on a sale of investment securities of ¥40.0 billion, including a foreign currency translation adjustment of ¥25.6 billion, as a gain on sale of other investments. As part of the sale of our remaining interest in KPN Mobile, we also recognized a non-cash charge of ¥14.1billion to operating expenses for the excess of fair value of KPN Mobile shares over the actual amount of cash received which we regard as the consideration of the benefits from the arrangement. Other income in the year ended March 31, 2006 decreased by ¥384.4 billion (76.3%) from ¥504.1 billion in the prior fiscal year, during which we sold the shares of AT&T Wireless for ¥501.8 billion.

 

Income before income taxes, equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries decreased by ¥335.9 billion (26.1%) to ¥952.3 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥1,288.2 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Income taxes were ¥341.4 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006 and ¥527.7 billion in the prior fiscal year, representing effective tax rates of approximately 35.9% and 41.0%, respectively. We are subject to a number of different taxes in Japan, including corporate income tax, enterprise tax and inhabitant income taxes, which, in the aggregate, amounted to a statutory tax rate of approximately 40.9% for both the years ended March 31, 2006 and 2005. For the three years starting April 1, 2003, the Japanese government introduced special tax allowances, which enabled us to deduct from our taxable income a part of our investments in certain IT related assets and investments for research and development. The difference between our effective tax rate and statutory tax rate arose primarily from the special tax allowances. The difference was limited in the year ended March 31, 2005, because of decrease in our taxable income due to the tax loss generated by the realization of the impairment of our investment in AT&T Wireless. In the year ended March 31, 2006, our effective tax rate became lower than our statutory tax rate as we were able to realize the tax benefits of the special tax allowances generated during the year ended March 31, 2006, and a portion of those carried forward from the prior fiscal year which had previously been reserved.

 

Equity in net losses of affiliates decreased to ¥0.4 billion for the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥12.9 billion for the prior fiscal year. We recorded impairment charge of ¥8.6 billion, related to our evaluation of Hutchison Telephone Company Limited (“HTCL”) for the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

As a result of the foregoing, we recorded net income of ¥610.5 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006, a decrease of ¥137.1 billion (18.3%) from ¥747.6 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

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Operating Results for the year ended March 31, 2005

 

The following discussion includes analysis of our operating results for the year ended March 31, 2005. The tables below describe selected operating data and income statement data:

 

Key Performance Index

 

     Years ended March 31

 
     2004

   2005

  

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change
(%)


 

Cellular

                      

Subscriptions (thousands)

   46,328    48,825    2,497     5.4  %

FOMA services (thousands)

   3,045    11,501    8,456     277.7  %

mova services (thousands)

   43,283    37,324    (5,959 )   (13.8 )%

i-mode services (thousands)

   41,077    44,021    2,944     7.2  %

Market Share (%) (1)(2)

   56.6    56.1    (0.5 )   —    

Aggregate ARPU (FOMA+mova)

(yen/month/contract) (3) (4)

   7,890    7,200    (690 )   (8.7 )%

Voice ARPU (yen/month/contract) (5)

   5,920    5,330    (590 )   (10.0 )%

Packet ARPU(yen/month/contract)

   1,970    1,870    (100 )   (5.1 )%

i-mode ARPU (yen/month/contract)

   1,970    1,870    (100 )   (5.1 )%

MOU (FOMA+mova)

(minutes/month/contract) (3)(6)

   159    151    (8 )   (5.0 )%

Churn Rate (%) (2)

   1.21    1.01    (0.20 )   —    

(1) Source for other cellular telecommunications operators: Data announced by Telecommunications Carriers Association
(2) Data are calculated including Communication Module Service subscriptions.
(3) Data are calculated excluding Communication Module Services-related revenues and Communication Module Services subscriptions.
(4) ARPU figures do not include revenues from international services. ARPU from international services for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004 was ¥20, respectively.
(5) Inclusive of circuit switched data communications.
(6) MOU(Minutes of usage):Average communication time per one month per one user

 

Breakdown of Financial Information

 

     Millions of yen

 
     Years ended March 31

 
     2004

   2005

  

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change
(%)


 

Operating Revenues :

                            

Wireless services

   ¥ 4,487,912    ¥ 4,296,537    ¥ (191,375 )   (4.3 )%

Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues (7)

     4,339,765      4,146,973      (192,792 )   (4.4 )%

- Voice revenues (8)

     3,269,527      3,086,275      (183,252 )   (5.6 )%

Including: FOMA services

     103,052      514,702      411,650     399.5  %

- Packet communications revenues

     1,070,238      1,060,698      (9,540 )   (0.9 )%

Including: FOMA services

     49,937      260,671      210,734     422.0  %

PHS services revenues

     70,363      60,288      (10,075 )   (14.3 )%

Other revenues

     77,784      89,276      11,492     14.8  %
    

  

  


 

Equipment sales

     560,153      548,073      (12,080 )   (2.2 )%
    

  

  


 

Total operating revenues

     5,048,065      4,844,610      (203,455 )   (4.0 )%
    

  

  


 

 

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     Millions of yen

 
     Years ended March 31

 
     2004

    2005

   

Increase

(Decrease)


    Change
(%)


 

Operating Expenses

                              

Cost of services

     712,571       740,423       27,852     3.9  %

Cost of equipment sold

     1,094,332       1,122,443       28,111     2.6  %

Depreciation and amortization

     720,997       735,423       14,426     2.0  %

Impairment loss

     —         60,399       60,399     —    

Selling, general and administrative

     1,417,247       1,401,756       (15,491 )   (1.1 )%
    


 


 


 

Total operating expense

     3,945,147       4,060,444       115,297     2.9  %
    


 


 


 

Operating Income

     1,102,918       784,166       (318,752 )   (28.9 )%

Other Income (Expense) (8)

     (1,795 )     504,055       505,850     —    
    


 


 


 

Income before income taxes, equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries:

     1,101,123       1,288,221       187,098     17.0  %

Income Taxes

     429,116       527,711       98,595     23.0  %
    


 


 


 

Income before equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries:

     672,007       760,510       88,503     13.2  %

Equity in net losses of affiliates (9)

     (21,960 )     (12,886 )     9,074     —    

Minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries

     (40 )     (60 )     (20 )   —    
    


 


 


 

Net Income

   ¥ 650,007     ¥ 747,564     ¥ 97,557     15.0 %
    


 


 


 


(6) From the year starting April 1, 2005, Quickcast services revenues, which were presented separately in the past, are included in “Other revenues,” and international services revenues, which were previously included in “Other revenues,” are included in “Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues”. The results for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004 are restated to conform to the presentation for the year ended March 31, 2006. However, international services revenues related to FOMA services are not included in FOMA services revenues for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004 because such information was not previously maintained.
(7) Inclusive of circuit switched data communications.
(8) Includes a gain on sales of AT&T Wireless shares of ¥501,781million in the year ended March 31, 2005.
(9) Includes impairment in investment in affiliates of ¥8,612 million in the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

Analysis on operating results for the year ended March 31, 2005 and comparison with the prior fiscal year

 

As of March 31, 2005, the number of our cellular (FOMA+mova) subscriptions reached 48.82 million and increased by 5.4% from 46.33 million at the end of the prior fiscal year. The number of FOMA subscriptions increased to 11.50 million as of March 31, 2005 from 3.05 million at the end of the prior fiscal year. On the other hand, the number of mova subscriptions, decreased by 13.8% to 37.32 million as of March 31, 2005 from 43.28 million at the prior fiscal year end, due to migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services. Our market share decreased by 0.5 points to 56.1% as of March 31, 2005. The number of i-mode subscriptions increased by 7.2% to 44.02 million as of March 31, 2005 from 41.08 million at the end of the prior fiscal year.

 

Aggregate ARPU of cellular (FOMA+mova) service decreased by ¥690 (8.7%) to ¥7,200 in the year ended March 31, 2005 from ¥7,890 in the prior fiscal year. Both voice ARPU and packet ARPU decreased from the prior fiscal year, by ¥590 (10.0%) to ¥5,330 from ¥5,920, and by ¥100 (5.1%) to ¥1,870 from ¥1,970, respectively. The MOU (FOMA+mova) decreased by 8 minutes to 151 minutes from 159 minutes in the prior fiscal year. Our churn rate for cellular subscriptions was 1.21% and 1.01% in the years ended March 31, 2004 and 2005, respectively.

 

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In the year ended March 31, 2005, we implemented various measures to retain our subscribers, including the rate discount in our “Family Discount” program, the introduction of “pake-hodai”, our flat-rate billing plan for unlimited i-mode usage, the reduction of monthly charges for “Packet Pack” billing plans, upgrade of point loyalty programs, release of “Osaifu-Keitai” handsets, and the expansion of FOMA coverage area, both indoors and outdoors. These measures had a positive impact on our revenues because they increased our number of net additional subscriptions although they simultaneously had a negative impact on our revenues in view of a decrease in ARPU.

 

Operating revenues decreased by ¥203.5 billion (4.0%) to ¥4,844.6 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005 from ¥5,048.1 billion in the prior fiscal year. Wireless services accounted for 88.7% of operating revenues compared to 88.9% in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in wireless services revenues was due primarily to a ¥192.8 billion decrease in cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues, to ¥4,147.0 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005. The decrease in cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues was caused by the fact that voice revenues decreased to ¥3,086.3 billion from ¥3,269.5 billion in the prior fiscal year and packet communications revenues decreased to ¥1,060.7 billion from ¥1,070.2 billion in the prior fiscal year. This reflected a decrease in ARPU, mainly due to our rate reduction for the purpose of retention of our current subscribers. Voice revenues from FOMA services increased to ¥514.7 billion from ¥103.1 billion in the prior fiscal year and packet communications revenues from FOMA services increased to ¥260.7 billion from ¥49.9 billion in the prior fiscal year. This showed a drastic migration of mova subscribers to FOMA services. Equipment sales revenues decreased by 2.2% from the prior fiscal year, primarily due to a decrease in handset sales compared to the prior fiscal year, which saw strong demand for replacement handsets equipped with cameras.

 

Operating expenses increased by ¥115.3 billion (2.9%) to ¥4,060.4 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005 from ¥3,945.1 billion in the prior fiscal year. This increase was largely due to an impairment loss on PHS assets of ¥60.4 billion and an increase in cost of equipment sold by ¥28.1 billion compared to the prior fiscal year. Cost of services increased from the prior fiscal year by ¥27.9 billion, mainly due to an increase in disposal of property, plant and equipment, as a result of upgrading our networks. Depreciation and amortization expenses increased by ¥14.4 billion from the prior fiscal year, primarily due to an increase in capital expenditures to improve the coverage areas of our FOMA services and to meet increasing traffic demand. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased from the prior fiscal year by ¥15.5 billion. A percentage of operating expenses to operating revenues increased to 83.8% from 78.2% in the prior fiscal year. This was because our operating expenses increased, mainly owing to an impairment loss on PHS related long-lived assets and an increase in cost of equipment sold, while our operating revenues decreased, mainly due to a decrease in cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues.

 

As a result of the foregoing, our operating income for the year ended March 31, 2005 was ¥784.2 billion, representing a 28.9% decrease from the prior fiscal year.

 

Other income (or expense), which includes such items as interest expense, interest income, gains and losses on sale of marketable securities, and foreign exchange gains and losses, changed to ¥504.1 billion income in the year ended March 31, 2005 from ¥1.8 billion expense in the prior fiscal year, primarily due to a gain of ¥501.8 billion on sale of AT&T Wireless shares.

 

Income before income taxes, equity in net losses of affiliates and minority interests in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries was ¥1,288.2 billion and ¥1,101.1 billion for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. Income taxes were ¥527.7 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005 and ¥429.1 billion in the prior fiscal year, representing effective tax rates of approximately 41.0% and 39.0%, respectively. We are subject to a number of different taxes in Japan, including corporate income tax, enterprise tax and inhabitant income taxes, which, in the aggregate, amounted to a statutory tax rate of approximately 40.9% for the year ended March 31, 2005 and 42.0% for the prior fiscal year. For the three years starting the year ended March 31, 2004, the Japanese government introduced special tax treatments, which enabled us to deduct from our taxable income a part of our investments in certain IT related assets and investments for research and development. The difference between our effective tax rate and statutory tax rate arose from the special tax treatments in the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004.

 

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Equity in net losses of affiliates, net of taxes, decreased to ¥12.9 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005 from ¥22.0 billion in the prior fiscal year. We recorded impairment charge of ¥8.6 billion, related to our evaluation of HTCL for the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

As a result of the foregoing, we recorded net income of ¥747.6 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005 compared to ¥650.0 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Segment Information

 

General

 

Our business consists of three reportable segments: mobile phone business, PHS business and miscellaneous businesses.

 

Our chief operating decision maker monitors and evaluates the performance of our segments based on the information that follows, as derived from our management reports.

 

Our mobile phone business segment includes:

 

    FOMA services;

 

    mova services;

 

    packet communications services;

 

    satellite mobile communications services;

 

    international services; and

 

    equipment sales related to these services.

 

Our PHS business segment includes PHS service and the related equipment sales. Our miscellaneous businesses segment includes Quickcast services, public wireless LAN services and other miscellaneous services, the aggregate revenues or assets of which are not significant in amount. Effective from the year starting April 1, 2005, we partly changed our segment configuration as follows: “Quickcast business”, which was presented separately in the past, is reclassified to “Miscellaneous businesses”, and international services, which were previously classified as “Miscellaneous businesses”, are reclassified to “Mobile phone business”. As a result of these reclassifications, the segment results for the year ended March 31, 2005 are restated to conform to the presentation for the year ended March 31, 2006.

 

Mobile phone business segment

 

In the year ended March 31, 2006, operating revenues from our mobile phone business segment decreased by 1.5% to ¥4,683.0 billion from ¥4,755.8 billion in the prior fiscal year. Cellular (FOMA+mova) services revenues, which are revenues from voice and packet communications of mobile phone services, increased slightly to ¥4,158.1 billion from ¥4,147.0 billion in the prior fiscal year. Equipment sales revenues declined as the number of handsets sold decreased compared to those in the prior fiscal year. Revenues from our mobile phone business segment represented 98.2% of total operating revenues in the both years ended March 31, 2005 and 2006. Operating expenses in our mobile phone business segment decreased 1.1% to ¥3,838.6 billion from ¥3,880.4 billion in the prior fiscal year. As a result, operating income from our mobile phone business segment decreased by 3.5% to ¥844.4 billion from ¥875.4 billion in the prior fiscal year. Analysis of the changes in revenues and expenses of mobile phone business segment is also presented in “Operating Trends” and “Operating Results for the year ended March 31, 2006”, which were discussed above.

 

PHS business segment

 

Considering the outlook for our PHS business, we ceased accepting new subscriptions for the PHS services at the end of April 2005. We plan to terminate the services during the three months ending December 31, 2007

 

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while monitoring the usage trends of the current subscribers. The number of PHS services subscriptions as of March 31, 2006 was 771 thousand, decreased by 41.3% from 1,314 thousand at the end of the prior fiscal year. Operating revenues in the PHS business segment decreased by 33.8% to ¥41.7 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006 from ¥63.1 billion in the prior fiscal year, primarily due to a decrease in the number of PHS subscriptions. Revenues from our PHS business segment represented 1.3% and 0.9% of total operating revenues in the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2006, respectively. Operating expenses in the PHS business segment decreased by 65.6% to ¥51.2 billion from ¥149.0 billion in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in operating expenses of our PHS business segment was due to an impairment of long-lived assets related to the PHS business that amounted to ¥60.4 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005, which was deducted from assets and recorded in operating expenses of the PHS business segment. In the year ended March 31, 2006, we also recorded an impairment loss of ¥1.1 billion, which represented the minimum maintenance capital expenditures for our PHS services made during the relevant fiscal year. As a result, Operating loss in the PHS business segment improved to ¥9.5 billion from ¥85.9 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Miscellaneous businesses segment

 

Operating revenues from our miscellaneous businesses increased by 60.0% to ¥41.1 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006, which represented 0.9% of total operating revenues, from ¥25.7 billion in the prior fiscal year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in revenues from businesses such as advertisement, development, sales and maintenance of IT systems, and staffing services. Operating expenses from our miscellaneous businesses increased by 40.0% to ¥43.5 billion from ¥31.0 billion in the prior fiscal year. As a result, operating loss from our miscellaneous businesses improved to ¥2.3 billion from ¥5.3 billion in the prior fiscal year. For our Quickcast business, we already ceased accepting new subscriptions after June 30, 2004 and will terminate the services on March 31, 2007.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In November 2004, Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 151, “Inventory Costs -an amendment of Accounting Research Bulletin (“ARB”) No. 43, Chapter 4.” SFAS No. 151 amends the guidance in ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, “Inventory Pricing,” to clarify the accounting for abnormal amounts of idle facility expense, freight, handling costs, and wasted material (spoilage). ARB No. 43, Chapter 4 previously stated that such costs might be as abnormal as to require treatment as current period charges. SFAS No. 151 requires that those items be recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether they meet the criterion of “so abnormal.” In addition, SFAS No. 151 requires that allocation of fixed production overhead to the costs of conversion be based on the normal capacity of the production facilities. SFAS No. 151 is effective for inventory costs incurred during fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2005. The adoption of SFAS No. 151 will not have any impact on our result of operations and financial position.

 

In December 2004, FASB issued SFAS No. 153, “Exchanges of Non-monetary Assets -an amendment of APB Opinion No. 29.” The amendment eliminates the exception for non-monetary exchanges of similar productive assets and replaces it with a general exception for exchanges of non-monetary assets that do not have commercial substance. The provisions in SFAS No. 153 are effective for non-monetary asset exchanges occurring during fiscal periods beginning after June 15, 2005. We do not expect that adoption of SFAS No. 153 will have a material impact on our result of operations and financial position.

 

In May 2005, the FASB issued SFAS No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections -a replacement of APB Opinion No.20 and FASB statement No.3.” SFAS No. 154 replaces APB Opinion No. 20 (“APB No. 20”), “Accounting Changes,” and SFAS No. 3, “Reporting Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements,” and changes the requirements for the accounting for and reporting of a change in accounting principle. APB No. 20 previously required that most voluntary changes in accounting principle be recognized by including in net income of the period of the change the cumulative effect of changing to the new accounting principle. SFAS No. 154 requires retrospective application to prior periods’ financial statements of changes in

 

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accounting principle. SFAS No. 154 is effective for accounting changes and corrections of errors made in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2005. The impact of SFAS No. 154 will depend on the change, if any, in a future period.

 

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments—an amendment of FASB Statements No. 133 and 140”. SFAS No. 155 permits an election for fair value re-measurement of any hybrid financial instrument containing an embedded derivative that otherwise would be required to be bifurcated from its host contract in accordance with SFAS No. 133, along with certain other clarifications and amendments to SFAS No. 133 and SFAS No. 140. SFAS No. 155 is effective for all financial instruments acquired, issued, or subject to a re-measurement event occurring during fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2006. The adoption of SFAS No 155 will not have any impact on our results of operations and financial position.

 

In March 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 156, “Accounting for Servicing of Financial Assets—amendment of FASB Statement No. 140”. SFAS No. 156 provides some relief for servicers that use derivatives to economically hedge fluctuations in the fair value of their servicing rights and changes how gains and losses are computed in certain transfers or securitizations. SFAS No. 156 is effective during fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2006. The adoption of SFAS No 156 will not have any impact on our results of operations and financial position.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires our management to make estimates about expected future cash flows and other matters that affect the amounts reported in our financial statements in accordance with accounting policies established by our management. Note 2 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements includes a summary of the significant accounting policies used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Certain accounting policies are particularly sensitive because of their significance to our reported results and because of the possibility that future events may differ significantly from the conditions and assumptions underlying the estimates used and judgments relating thereto made by our management in preparing our financial statements. Our senior managements have discussed the selection and development of the accounting estimates and the following disclosure regarding the critical accounting policies with our independent public accountants as well as our corporate auditors. The corporate auditors attend meetings of the Board of Directors and certain executive meetings to express their opinion and are under a statutory duty to oversee the administration of our affairs by our Directors and to examine our financial statements. Our critical accounting policies are as follows.

 

Useful lives of property, plant and equipment, internal use software and other intangible assets

 

The values of our property, plant and equipment, such as the base stations, antennas, switching centers and transmission lines used by our cellular and PHS businesses, our internal-use software and our other intangible assets are recorded in our financial statements at acquisition or development cost, and are depreciated or amortized over their estimated useful lives. We estimate the useful lives of property, plant and equipment, internal-use software and other intangible assets in order to determine the amount of depreciation and amortization expense to be recorded in each fiscal year. Our total depreciation and amortization expenses in the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were ¥721.0 billion, ¥735.4 billion and ¥737.1 billion, respectively. We determine the useful lives of our assets at the time the assets are acquired and base our determinations on expected use, experience with similar assets, established laws and regulations as well as taking into account anticipated technological or other changes. The estimated useful lives of our wireless telecommunications equipment are generally set at six to 15 years. The estimated useful life of our internal-use software is set at five years. If technological or other changes occur more rapidly or in a different form than anticipated, or new laws or regulations are enacted, or the intended use changes, the useful lives assigned to these assets may need to be shortened, resulting in recognition of additional depreciation and amortization expenses or losses in future periods.

 

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Impairment of long-lived assets

 

We perform an impairment review for our long-lived assets to be held and used, including fixed assets, such as our property, plant and equipment, and certain identifiable intangibles, such as software for telecommunications network, internal-use software, and rights to use telecommunications facilities of wire line network operators, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. This analysis is separate from our analysis of the useful lives of our assets, although it is affected by some similar factors. Factors that we consider important and that can trigger an impairment review include, but are not limited to, the following trends or conditions related to the business that utilizes a particular asset:

 

    significant decline in the market value of an asset;

 

    loss of operating cash flow in current period;

 

    introduction of competing technology and services;

 

    significant underperformance of expected or historical cash flows;

 

    significant or continuing decline in subscriptions;

 

    changes in the manner of use of an asset; and

 

    other negative industry or economic trends.

 

When we determine that the carrying amount of specific assets may not be recoverable based on the existence or occurrence of one or more of the above or other factors, we estimate the future cash inflows and outflows expected to be generated by the assets over their expected useful lives. We also estimate the sum of expected undiscounted future net cash flows based upon historical trends adjusted to reflect our best estimate of future market and operating conditions. If the sum of the expected undiscounted future net cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets, we record an impairment loss based on the fair values of the assets. Such fair values may be based on established markets, independent appraisals and valuations or discounted cash flows. If actual market and operating conditions under which assets are used are less favorable or subscriber numbers are less than those projected by management, either of which results in loss of cash flows, additional impairment charges for assets not previously written-off may be required.

 

No impairment of our long-lived assets was recorded in the year ended March 31, 2004. In the year ended March 31, 2005, because our forecast of net cash flows from our PHS business turned out to be negative, we recognized an impairment loss on PHS related long-lived assets, writing down all the assets totaling ¥60.4 billion. We recognized another impairment loss of ¥1.1 billion in the year ended March 31, 2006, when we also wrote-down the entire carrying value of long-lived assets related to PHS business, which we acquired minimally to maintain provision of PHS services during the relevant fiscal period.

 

Impairment of investments

 

We have made investments in certain domestic and foreign entities. These investments are accounted for under either of equity method, cost adjusted for fair value method or cost method, as appropriate based on various conditions such as ownership percentages, exercisable influence over the investments and marketability of the investments. The total carrying value for the investments in affiliates was ¥174.1 billion, while the total carrying value for investments in marketable equity securities and equity securities accounted for under the cost method was ¥258.0 billion as of March 31, 2006. Equity method and cost method accounting require that we assess if a decline in value or its associated event regarding any such investment has occurred and, if so, whether such decline is other than temporary. We perform a review for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an investment may not be recoverable. Factors that we consider important and that can trigger an impairment review include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

    significant or continuing declines in the market values of the investee;

 

    loss of operating cash flow in current period;

 

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    significant underperformance of historical cash flows of the investee;

 

    significant impairment losses or write-downs recorded by the investee;

 

    significant changes in the quoted market price of public investee affiliates;

 

    negative results of competitors of investee affiliates; and

 

    other negative industry or economic trends.

 

In performing our evaluations, we utilize various information including discounted cash flow valuations, independent valuations and, if available, quoted market values. Determination of recoverable amounts sometimes require estimates involving, among other things, results of operations and financial position of the investee, changes in technology, capital expenditures, market growth and share, discount factors and terminal values.

 

As a result of such evaluations, we determined that there were other than temporary declines in value, below its carrying value, of investment in HTCL, our investee affiliate, and recorded impairment charge of ¥8.6 billion in the year ended March 31, 2005. Such write-down to fair value establishes a new cost basis in the carrying amount of the investment. The impairment charge is included in equity in losses of affiliates in our consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income. In the years ended March 31, 2004 and 2006, we determined that there was no other than temporary declines in the values of our investee affiliates. In the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, we recorded impairment charges accompanying with other than temporary declines in the values in certain investments which were classified as marketable securities or equity securities using cost method, however, the impairment charges were immaterial in amount and did not have material impact on our result of operations and financial position.

 

While we believe that the remaining carrying values of our affiliate investments are nearly equal to its fair value, circumstances in which the value of an investment is below its carrying amount or changes in the estimated realizable value can require additional impairment charges to be recognized in the future.

 

Deferred tax assets

 

We record deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates for the estimated future tax effects of carry-forwards and temporary differences between the tax basis of an asset or liability and the amount reported in the balance sheet. In determining the amounts of the deferred tax assets or liabilities, we have to estimate the tax rates expected to be in effect during the carry-forward periods or when the temporary differences reverse. We recognize a valuation allowance against certain deferred tax assets when it is determined that it is more likely than not some or all of future tax benefits will not be realized. In determining the valuation allowance, we estimate expected future taxable income and the timing for claiming and realizing tax deductions, and assess available tax planning strategies. If we determine that future taxable income is lower than expected or that the tax planning strategies cannot be implemented as anticipated, the valuation allowance may need to be additionally recorded in the future in the period when such determination is made.

 

Assumptions for actuarially determined pension liabilities

 

We sponsor a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan which covers almost all of our employees. Calculation of the amount of pension cost and liabilities for retirement allowances requires us to make various judgments and assumptions including the discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, long-term rate of salary increases and expected remaining service lives of our plan participants. We believe that the most significant of these assumptions in the calculations are the discount rates and the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. We determine an appropriate discount rate based on current market interest rates on high-quality, fixed-rate debt securities that are currently available and expected to be available during the period to maturity of the pension benefits. In determining the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, we consider the current and projected asset allocations, as well as expected long-term investment returns and risks for each

 

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category of the plan assets based on analysis of historical performances. The rates are reviewed annually, and we review our assumptions in a timely manner when an event occurs that would have significant influence on the rates or the investment environment changes dramatically.

 

The discount rates used in determination of the projected benefit obligations as of March 31, 2005 and 2006, and expected long-term rates of return on plan assets for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2006 are as follows:

 

     Years ended March 31

 
     2005

    2006

 

Discount rate

   2.0 %   2.0 %

Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets

   2.5     2.5  

 

The actual returns on plan assets for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2006 were approximately 3% and 17%, respectively.

 

The amount of projected benefit obligations of our non-contributory defined benefit pension plan as of March 31, 2005 and 2006 was ¥179.4 billion and ¥188.9 billion, respectively. The amount is subject to a substantial change due to differences in actual experience or changes in assumptions. In conjunction with the differences between estimates and the actual benefit obligations, unrecognized net losses in excess of 10% of the greater of the projected benefit obligation or the fair value of plan assets are amortized over the expected average remaining service life of employees, in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

The following table shows the sensitivity of our non-contributory defined benefit pension plan as of March 31, 2006 to the change in the discount rate or the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, while holding other assumptions constant.

 

     Billions of yen

Change in Assumptions


   Change in projected
benefit obligation


  

Change in pension
cost,

before applicable
income taxes


   Accumulated other
comprehensive
income, net of
applicable income
taxes


0.5% increase/decrease in discount rate

   (11.0) / 12.0    0.1 / (0.1)    7.0 / (7.0)

0.5% increase/decrease in expected long-term rate of return on plan assets

   —      (0.4) /0.3    —  

 

We also participate in a contributory defined benefit welfare pension plan sponsored by NTT group. The amount of our total projected benefit obligations for both of the non-contributory defined benefit pension plans and the contributory defined benefit welfare pension plan as of March 31, 2005 and 2006 was ¥307.1 billion and ¥320.9 billion, respectively.

 

Revenue recognition

 

We defer upfront activation fees and recognize them as revenues over the expected term of the customer relationship. Related direct costs, to the extent of the activation fee amount, are also being deferred and amortized over the same periods. While this policy does not have any material impact on our net income, the reported amounts of revenue and cost of services are affected by the level of activation fees and related direct costs and the estimated length of the customer relationship period over which such fees and costs are amortized. Factors that affect our estimate of the customer relationship period over which such fees and costs are amortized include subscriber churn rate and newly introduced or anticipated competing products, services and technology. The current amortization periods are based on an analysis of historical trends and our experiences. In the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, we recognized deferred activation fees of ¥61.1 billion, ¥58.9 billion and ¥54.6 billion, respectively, as well as corresponding amounts of related deferred costs. As of March 31, 2006, remaining unrecognized deferred activation fees were ¥116.6 billion.

 

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B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.

 

Cash Requirements

 

Our cash requirements for the year ending March 31, 2007 include money needed to expand our FOMA infrastructure around Japan, to invest in other facilities, and to make payments related to interest bearing liabilities and other contractual obligations. We believe that available reserves of our cash and cash equivalents, and expected cash from operations will provide sufficient financial resources to meet our currently anticipated capital and other expenditure requirements and to satisfy our debt service requirements. We also expect to obtain external financing, if necessary, for other opportunities, such as new business activities, acquisitions, joint ventures or other investments, through borrowing or the issuance of debt or equity securities. However, additional debt, equity or other financing may be required if we have underestimated our capital or other expenditure requirements, or overestimated our future cash flows. There can be no assurance that such financing will be available on commercially acceptable terms or in a timely manner.

 

Capital Expenditures

 

The wireless telecommunications industry is highly capital intensive because significant capital expenditures are required for the construction of wireless telecommunications networks. Our capital requirements for our networks are determined by the nature of facility or equipment, the timing of its installment, the nature and the area of coverage desired, the number of subscribers served in the area, and the expected volume of traffic. They are also influenced by the number of cells required in the service area, the number of radio channels in the cell and the switching equipment required. Capital expenditures are also required for information technology and servers for Internet-related services.

 

Our capital expenditures in the year ended March 31, 2006 increased from the prior fiscal year. We implemented various measures to enhance our competitiveness prior to the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability, which included further expansion of the coverage areas of FOMA services and buildup of FOMA network capacity to respond to the increase in traffic demand. Specifically, we added approximately 7,800 outdoor base stations for our FOMA services during the year ended March 31, 2006, for its aggregate number installed to reach approximately 24,000 as of March 31, 2006. We also promoted the installment of indoor systems for our FOMA services to complete coverage of approximately 6,400 facilities as of March 31, 2006. On the other hand, we were involved with cost saving efforts such as economized procurement, design and installment of low-cost devices, and improvements of construction processes.

 

Total capital expenditures for the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were ¥805.5 billion, ¥861.5 billion and ¥887.1 billion, respectively. In the year ended March 31, 2006, 67.9% of capital expenditures were used for construction of FOMA network, 15.4% for general capital expenditures, 4.1% for construction of second generation mova network, 9.2% for construction of transmission lines and 3.3% for i-mode related expenditures. By comparison, in the prior fiscal year, 61.4% of capital expenditures were used for construction of FOMA network, 18.6% for general capital expenditures, 8.7% for construction of transmission lines, 6.7% for construction of mova network and 4.0% for i-mode related expenditures.

 

In the year ending March 31, 2007, we expect total capital expenditures to be ¥905.0 billion, of which approximately 70.6% will be for our FOMA network, 16.6% for general capital expenditures, 7.3% for construction of transmission lines, 1.9% for mova network and 3.5% for i-mode related expenditures, which we expect to finance with our expected cash from operations and available cash reserves. Virtually all of these capital investments will take place in Japan. According to our current 3G construction schedule, we plan to continuously expand the coverage area and improve the quality of our network as important measures to improve our competitiveness prior to the introduction of the Mobile Number Portability. Therefore, we expect to complete construction of sufficiently competitive FOMA network, which will exceed the coverage area of the existing mova network, by the introduction of Mobile Number Portability in November 2006.

 

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We currently expect that total capital expenditures will peak in the year ending March 31, 2007 and capital expenditures for each of the subsequent few fiscal years will fall primarily because capital expenditures related to expanding, maintaining and upgrading our FOMA network are expected to peak in the current fiscal year and decrease in the subsequent fiscal years.

 

Our level of capital expenditures may vary significantly from expected levels for a number of reasons. Capital expenditures for expansion and enhancement of our existing cellular network may be influenced by the growth in subscriptions and traffic, which is difficult to predict with certainty, the ability to identify and procure suitably located base station sites on commercially reasonable terms, competitive environments in particular regions and other factors. The nature, scale and timing of capital expenditures to reinforce our 3G network may be materially different from our current plans due to demand for the services, delays in the construction of the network or in the introduction of services, and changes in the variable costs of components for the network. We expect that these capital expenditures will be affected by market demand for our mobile multimedia services, including i-mode, and other data transmission services, and by our schedule for ongoing expansion of the existing networks to meet demand.

 

Long-term Debt and other Contractual Obligations

 

As of March 31, 2006, we had ¥792.3 billion in long-term debt, including current maturities, primarily in corporate bonds and loans from financial institutions, compared to ¥948.5 billion as of the end of the prior fiscal year. We did not implement any long-term financing in either of the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005, or 2006, during which we repaid ¥245.4 billion, ¥146.7 billion and ¥150.3 billion of long-term debt, respectively.

 

Of our long-term debt outstanding as of March 31, 2006, ¥178.5 billion, including current portion, was unsecured indebtedness to banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions at fixed interest rates of 0.8% - 4.9% and with maturities currently from the year ending March 31, 2007 through 2013. As of March 31, 2006, we also had ¥613.7 billion in unsecured bonds due from the year ending March 31, 2007 to 2012 with coupon rates of 0.3%-3.5%. We have sought to level out our repayment requirements. For information about our debt servicing schedule, see also Item 11, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk”.

 

As of March 31, 2006, publicly offered corporate bonds of DoCoMo were rated by rating agencies as shown in the table below. Credit ratings reflect rating agencies’ current opinions about our financial capability of meeting payment obligations of our debts in accordance with their terms. Rating Agencies are able to upgrade, downgrade, reserve or withdraw their credit ratings on us anytime at their discretions. The rating is not a market rating or recommendation to buy, hold or sell our shares or any financial obligations of us.

 

     Senior long-term
debt rating


   Outlook

Moody’s

   Aa1    Stable

Standard & Poor’s

   AA-    Stable

Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd.

   AAA    Negative

 

None of our debt obligations has ever had a clause in which a downgrade of our credit rating could lead to a change in a payment term of such an obligation so as to accelerate its maturity.

 

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The following table summarizes our long-term debt, lease obligations and other contractual obligations (including current portion) over the next several years.

 

Long Term Debt, Lease Obligations and other Contractual Obligations

 

          Payments Due by Period

Category of Obligations


   Total

  

Less than

1 year


   1-3 years

   4-5 years

   After 5
years


     (millions of yen)

Long-Term Debt

                                  

Unsecured Bonds

   ¥ 613,730    ¥ 129,200    ¥ 159,147    ¥ 162,463    ¥ 162,920

Unsecured Loans

     178,523      64,523      47,000      46,000      21,000

Capital Leases

     8,718      3,511      4,099      1,041      67

Operating Leases

     25,104      1,812      3,359      2,848      17,085

Other Contractual Obligations

     161,522      160,041      1,481      —        —  
    

  

  

  

  

Total

   ¥ 987,597    ¥ 359,087    ¥ 215,086    ¥ 212,352    ¥ 201,072

* The amount of other long-term liabilities is not shown in the above table since some liabilities are immaterial in amount or the timing of payments is uncertain.

 

Other contractual obligations principally consisted of commitments to purchase property and equipment for our cellular network, commitments to purchase inventories, mainly handsets, commitments to purchase services and commitments to acquire equity securities. As of March 31, 2006, we had committed ¥50.7 billion for property and equipment, ¥31.6 billion for inventories and ¥79.3 billion for the other purchase commitments.

 

In addition to our existing commitments, we expect to make significant capital expenditures on an ongoing basis for our FOMA networks and for other purposes. Also, we consider potential opportunities to enter new areas of business, make acquisitions or enter into joint ventures, equity investments or other arrangements primarily in wireless communications businesses from time to time. Currently, we have no contingent liabilities related to litigation or guarantees that could have a materially adverse effect on our financial position.

 

Sources of Cash

 

The following table sets forth certain information about our cash flows during the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006:

 

     Years ended March 31

 
     2004

    2005

    2006

 
     (millions of yen)  

Net cash provided by operating activities

   ¥ 1,710,243     ¥ 1,181,585     ¥ 1,610,941  

Net cash used in investing activities

     (847,309 )     (578,329 )     (951,077 )

Net cash used in financing activities

     (705,856 )     (672,039 )     (590,621 )
    


 


 


Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     157,079       (68,078 )     70,772  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

     680,951       838,030       769,952  
    


 


 


Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

   ¥ 838,030     ¥ 769,952     ¥ 840,724  
    


 


 


 

Analysis on cash flows for the year ended March 31, 2006 and comparison with the prior fiscal year

 

For the year ended March 31, 2006, our net cash provided by operating activities was ¥1,610.9 billion, an increase of ¥429.4 billion (36.3%) from ¥1,181.6 billion in the prior fiscal year. Net cash provided by operating activities increased primarily because of a decrease in the payment of income taxes to ¥182.9 billion from ¥541.7 billion in the prior fiscal year as well as a collection of income taxes receivable of ¥93.1 billion. The decrease in

 

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the payment of income taxes and the collection of income taxes receivable resulted from a decrease in our taxable income due to a decrease in our operating income and realization of deferred tax assets from the impairment of our investment in AT&T Wireless recorded in the years ended March 31, 2002 and 2003 after the sale of the relevant shares in the year ended March 31, 2005.

 

Net cash used in investing activities was ¥951.1 billion, after main items such as expenditure of ¥833.9 billion for acquisitions of fixed assets and of ¥292.6 billion for strategic investments, and revenue of 149.0 billion from changes in investments with original maturities of more than three months for cash management purpose. The net amount of cash used was an increase of ¥372.7 billion (64.5%) from ¥578.3 billion used in the prior fiscal year. The increase in the net cash used derived mainly from the following:

 

    decrease in proceeds from the sale of non-current investments to ¥25.1 billion from ¥725.9 billion in the prior fiscal year, during which we sold AT&T Wireless shares,

 

    purchases of non-current investments amounted to ¥292.6 billion resulting from our investments in companies such as Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited KT Freetel Co., Ltd., and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company,

 

    changes in investments with original maturities of more than three months for cash management purposes provided cash of ¥149.0 billion while they used cash of ¥400.3 billion in the prior fiscal year, and

 

    expenditures for acquisitions of fixed assets decreased to ¥833.9 billion from ¥911.1 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

In the year ended March 31, 2006, we partnered with entities from various industries, including investments, with focus on “commercial transactions”, “broadcasting”, “contents services”, “global operations” and “advanced cellular technology”, all of which we believe are the keys for us to upgrade our cellular services to become “life-style infrastructures”. We expect that these partnerships will enable us to expand our business to a domain familiar with cellular business, and to create new products and services which will benefit our subscribers as “life-style infrastructures”, and to establish new revenue sources independent of traffic revenues.

 

Net cash used in financing activities was ¥590.6 billion, primarily from the repayment of ¥150.3 billion for long-term debt, dividend payments of ¥135.5 billion and payment of ¥300.1 billion for acquisition of treasury stock. The net amount of cash used was a decrease of ¥81.4 billion (12.1%) from ¥672.0 billion in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in the net cash used in financing activities was due primarily to a decrease in the payments to acquire treasury stock to ¥300.1 billion from ¥425.2 billion in the prior fiscal year, while our dividend payment increased to ¥135.5 billion from ¥95.3 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2006, amounted to ¥840.7 billion, representing an increase of ¥70.8 billion from those at the end of the prior fiscal year. The amount of investments with original maturities of longer than three months, which were made to manage a part of our cash efficiently, was ¥400.6 billion and ¥251.0 billion as of March 31, 2005 and 2006, respectively.

 

Analysis on cash flows for the year ended March 31, 2005 and comparison with the prior fiscal year

 

In the year ended March 31, 2005, our net cash provided by operating activities was ¥1,181.6 billion, a decrease of ¥528.7 billion (30.9%) from ¥1,710.2 billion in the prior fiscal year. Net cash provided by operating activities decreased primarily because of a decrease in our operating income, an increase in the payment of income taxes to ¥541.7 billion from ¥259.9 billion in the prior fiscal year, and a decrease in collection of income taxes receivable, which was ¥107.2 billion in the prior fiscal year.

 

Net cash used in investing activities was ¥578.3 billion, a decrease of ¥269.0 billion (31.7%), compared to ¥847.3 billion in the prior fiscal year. Despite an increase in payment for purchase of property, plant and

 

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equipment and intangibles and other assets to ¥911.1 billion from ¥802.9 billion in the prior fiscal year, net cash used in investing activities decreased mainly due to a sale of AT&T Wireless shares that amounted to ¥699.5 billion, and a collection of shareholders loan to H3G UK, which amounted to ¥39.8 billion. Changes in investments with original maturities of more than three months for cash management purpose, which were made to manage a part of our cash efficiently, increased net cash used in investing activities by ¥400.3 billion.

 

Net cash used in financing activities was ¥672.0 billion, a decrease of ¥33.8 billion (4.8%), compared to ¥705.9 billion in the prior fiscal year. We used less cash to repay our long-term debt, while we paid dividends of ¥95.3 billion and repurchased our own shares totaling ¥425.2 billion.

 

Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2005, amounted to ¥770.0 billion, representing a decrease of ¥68.1 billion from ¥838.0 billion at the end of the prior fiscal year. The amount of investments with original maturities of longer than three months, which were made to manage a part of our cash efficiently, was ¥400.6 billion as of March 31, 2005.

 

As for our sources of cash for the year ending March 31, 2007, we expect our net cash flow from operating activities to decrease from the prior fiscal year, because of an increase in income tax payments. The payment of income taxes is expected to increase because we currently do not have any extraordinary events which will decrease our payments of income taxes, such as realization of deferred tax assets from the impairment of our investment in AT&T Wireless in the prior fiscal year.

 

Our net cash flow used in investing activities is expected to increase because of increase in our capital expenditures to approximately ¥905.0 billion from ¥887.1 billion in the prior fiscal year. The amount of expenditure currently determined for non-current investment is approximately ¥23.0 billion.

 

C. Research and Development

 

Our research and development activities embrace three key efforts: development of new products and services such as handsets and applications for 3G systems, research and development related to fourth-generation systems and upgrading the functions of second generation systems. Research and development expenditures are charged to expenses as incurred. We spent ¥ 124.5 billion, ¥101.9 billion and ¥ 110.5 billion as research and development expenses in the years ended March 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively.

 

D. Trend Information.

 

Competition in the Japanese mobile communications market is expected to become increasingly fierce, with each carrier introducing numerous new types of handsets, services with highly advanced features and lower price plans, in anticipation of the introduction of Mobile Number Portability and the advent of new carriers, and reflecting the higher penetration rate of cellular phone services and the diversification of customer needs.

 

In the year ending March 31, 2007, we expect that our operating revenues will increase slightly, operating income will decrease slightly and net income will decline, in comparison with the prior fiscal year, based on the following trends in our business:

 

    our total number of subscriptions as of March 31, 2007, will increase in comparison with the number of subscribers as of March 31, 2006, although we expect a lower annual growth rate as compared with the growth rates for previous years. Further, the proportion of FOMA subscriptions will increase with the ongoing migration of our mova subscribers to FOMA services;

 

    each of aggregate ARPU(FOMA+mova), voice ARPU(FOMA+mova) decreased and packet ARPU(FOMA+mova) increased in the year ended March 31, 2006, as compared to the prior fiscal year. This trend is expected to continue in the year ending March 31, 2007, primarily as a result of the introduction of lower service charges and flat rate plans implemented in the year ended March 31, 2006 to strengthen our competitiveness and propel growth in the future;

 

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    equipment sales are expected to increase during the year ending March 31, 2007, as compared with those for the prior fiscal year resulting from an increase in the number of handsets sold and an increase in the proportion of handset sales represented by FOMA handsets; and

 

    as equipment sales increase and network quality is improved, operating expenses such as expenses tied to revenues and network costs (telecommunication facility use fees, depreciation costs, and fixed asset disposal costs) are expected to increase as well, and we will continue to implement efforts to cut back operating expenses, including efforts to operate our businesses more efficiently.

 

    In the year ended March 31, 2006, our operating income was affected by expenses relating to the dissolution of our capital relationship with KPN Mobile. However, our income before income taxes and net income were also affected by other income such as profits from the sale of our shares in H3G UK to HWL and profits from the sale of our shares in KPN Mobile to KPN. These were one-time effects and were not indicative of our future operating results. In the year ending March 31, 2007, we expect that net income will decrease in comparison with the prior fiscal year, based on the above trends in our business.

 

Further information regarding trend information is contained elsewhere in this Item 5.

 

The discussion above includes forward-looking statements based on management’s assumptions and beliefs as to the factors set forth above, as to market and industry conditions and as to our performance under those conditions and are subject to the qualifications set forth in “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” which can be found immediately following the table of contents. Our actual results could vary significantly from these projections and could be influenced by a number of factors and uncertainties, including changes in the market and industry conditions, competition, the continuing success of i-mode and other factors and risks as discussed in “Risk Factors” in Item 3.D. Additionally, unanticipated events and circumstances may affect our actual financial and operating results. As a result, no representation can be or is made with respect to the accuracy of the foregoing projections.

 

E. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements.

 

We do not have any material off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

F. Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations.

 

See Item.5.B.

 

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Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees.

 

A. Directors and Senior Management.

 

Directors, Corporate Officers and Corporate Auditors

 

Our Board of Directors has the ultimate responsibility for the administration of our affairs. Our Articles of Incorporation provide for a maximum of 15 Directors. Directors are elected at a general meeting of shareholders from among those candidates nominated by the Board of Directors. The candidates may also be nominated by shareholders. The normal term of office of Directors is two years, although they may serve any number of consecutive terms. The Board of Directors elects from among its members one or more Representative Directors, who have the authority individually to represent us. From among its members, the Board of Directors also elects the President and may elect a Chairman and one or more Senior Executive Vice Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents.

 

Our Articles of Incorporation provide for not more than five Corporate Auditors. Under the Corporation Law of Japan, the Corporate Auditors collectively constitute the Board of Corporate Auditors. Corporate Auditors, more than half of whom must be from outside our company, are elected at a general meeting of shareholders from among those candidates nominated by the Board of Directors with the prior consent of our Board of Corporate Auditors. The candidates may also be nominated by shareholders. The Board of Corporate Auditors may, by its resolution, request that the Board of Directors submit to a general meeting of shareholders an item of business concerning election of Corporate Auditors and/or proposed candidates of Corporate Auditors. The normal term of office of a Corporate Auditor is four years, although they may serve any number of consecutive terms. Corporate Auditors are under a statutory duty to oversee the administration of our affairs by our Directors, to examine our financial statements and business reports to be submitted by our Board of Directors to the general meetings of our shareholders and to report to the shareholders regarding any actions by our Board of Directors that are seriously unreasonable or which are in violation of laws, ordinances or the Articles of Incorporation of our company. They are obliged to attend meetings of the Board of Directors and to express their opinions if they deem necessary, but they are not entitled to vote. The Board of Corporate Auditors has a statutory duty to prepare and submit an audit report to the Directors each year. A Corporate Auditor may note his or her opinion in the audit report if his or her opinion is different from the opinion expressed in the audit report. The Board of Corporate Auditors is empowered to establish audit principles, the methods of examination by Corporate Auditors of our affairs and financial position and other matters concerning the performance of the Corporate Auditors’ duties.

 

In addition to Corporate Auditors, we must appoint independent public accountants who have statutory duties to examine the financial statements to be submitted by the Board of Directors to the general meetings of shareholders, reporting thereon to the Board of Corporate Auditors and the Directors, and examining the financial statements to be filed with the Director of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau of Japan. Since our incorporation, KPMG AZSA & Co. has acted as our independent public accountant.

 

As approved at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders in June 2005, the company halved the size of its Board of Directors, and introduced a corporate officer system with an aim to clarify the Board’s supervision function and further reinforce the company’s business execution capability. In putting a corporate officer system in place, the company appointed corporate officers dedicated to business execution without board representation, while having a considerable number of board members serve concurrently as corporate officers, in an arrangement to ensure that mutual supervision among board members will continue to function effectively.

 

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The following table sets forth our Directors and Corporate Auditors as of June 27, 2006 and certain other information:

 

Name


 

Position


 

Responsibility


  Date of Birth

  Current
Term
Expires


  Shares
Owned (1)


  Initial
Appointment
Date


Directors:

                       

Masao Nakamura (2)

  President and Chief Executive Officer     Nov. 11, 1944   June 2008   112   June 1998

Masayuki Hirata (2)

  Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer   Managing Director of Global Business Division   Jul. 30, 1947   June 2008   97   June 2000

Kunio lshikawa (2)

  Senior Executive Vice President   Managing Director of Network Division   Sep. 2, 1948   June 2008   79   June 1999

Seijiro Adachi (2)

  Senior Executive Vice President     Jul. 8, 1944   June 2008   53   June 2004

Takanori Utano*

  Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer   Managing Director of Research and Development Division   Sep. 20, 1949   June 2008   50   June 2001

Kiyoyuki Tsujimura*

  Executive Vice President   Managing Director of Products & Services Division   Jan. 11, 1950   June 2008   83   June 2001

Shuro Hoshizawa*

  Executive Vice President   Managing Director of Corporate Marketing Division and Managing Director of Corporate Marketing Promotion Department   Jun. 17, 1949   June 2008   48   June 2002

Harunari Futatsugi*

  Executive Vice President   Managing Director of Human Resources Management Department   Nov. 23, 1951   June 2008   29   June 2003

Kenji Ota*

  Executive Vice President   Managing Director of General Affairs Department   Oct. 1, 1949   June 2008   20   June 2005

Noriaki Ito*

  Senior Vice President   Managing Director of Corporate Strategy & Planning Department   Apr. 3, 1952   June 2008   21   June 2005

Bunya Kumagai*

  Senior Vice President   Managing Director of Marketing Division   Oct. 13, 1952   June 2008   35   June 2006

Kazuto Tsubouchi*

  Senior Vice President   Managing Director of Accounts and Finance Department   May 2, 1952   June 2008   10   June 2006

Sakuo Sakamoto

  Member of the Board     Oct. 15, 1958   June 2008   10   June 2005

Shinichi Nakatani (3)

  Corporate Auditor     Aug. 31, 1943   June 2007   37   June 2002

Shoichi Matsuhashi (3)

  Corporate Auditor     Nov. 15, 1943   June 2008   21   June 2004

Katsuhiko Fujiwara (3)

  Corporate Auditor     Feb. 24, 1945   June 2007   10   June 2006

Keisuke Nakasaki

  Corporate Auditor     Oct. 10, 1941   June 2007   50   June 2000

Michiharu Sakurai

  Corporate Auditor     Mar. 4, 1937   June 2007   10   June 2003

(1) DoCoMo shares owned as of March 31, 2006.
(2) Representative Director.
(3) Full-time Corporate Auditor
* Concurrently serve as a Corporate Officer

 

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Masao Nakamura joined NTT Public Corporation in 1969. He became a General Manager of Saitama Branch of NTT in 1996. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 1998 and an Executive Vice President of our company in 1999 and a Senior Executive Vice President of our company in 2002. He has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of our company since 2004 and as a Director of our company since 1998.

 

Masayuki Hirata joined NTT Public Corporation in 1970. He became an Executive Manager of Department IV of NTT in 1999, a Senior Vice President of our company in 2000 and an Executive Vice President of our company in 2001. He has served as a Senior Executive Vice President of our company and as a Managing Director of Global Business Division since 2004, Chief Financial Officer of our company since 2006 and as a Director of our company since 2000.

 

Kunio Ishikawa joined NTT Public Corporation in 1971. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 1999 and an Executive Vice President of our company in 2002. He has served as a Senior Executive Vice President of our company since 2004, as a Managing Director of Network Division since 2002 and as a Director of our company since 1999.

 

Seijiro Adachi joined the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1968. He became a Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for the Policyholders of Postal Office Life Insurance in 2002. He has served as a Senior Executive Vice President of our company since 2004 and as a Director of our company since 2004.

 

Takanori Utano joined NTT Public Corporation in 1974. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 2001. He has served as an Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of our company, as a Managing Director of the Research and Development Division since 2004 and as a Director of our company since 2001.

 

Kiyoyuki Tsujimura joined NTT Public Corporation in 1975. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 2001. He has served as an Executive Vice President of our company since 2004, as a Managing Director of Products & Services Division since 2005 and as a Director of our company since 2001.

 

Shuro Hoshizawa joined NTT Public Corporation in 1973. He became a Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy Planning Department of NTT East in 1999. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 2002. He has served as an Executive Vice President of our company and as a Managing Director of the Corporate Marketing Division since 2004, as a Managing Director of Corporate Marketing Promotion Department since 2006 and as a Director of our company since 2002.

 

Harunari Futatsugi joined NTT Public Corporation in 1976. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 2003. He has served as an Executive Vice President of our company since 2006, as a Managing Director of Human Resources Management Department since 2004 and as a Director of our company since 2003.

 

Kenji Ota joined NTT Public Corporation in 1974. He became a Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Marketing Division of NTT DoCoMo Kyushu in 2004. He became a Senior Vice President of our company in 2005. He has served as an Executive Vice President of our company since 2006, as a Managing Director of General Affairs Department since 2005 and as a Director of our company since 2005.

 

Noriaki Ito joined NTT Public Corporation in 1977. He became a Senior Vice President and Representative Director and Managing Director of Corporate Strategy & Planning Department of NTT DoCoMo Hokkaido in 2004. He has served as a Senior Vice President of our company since 2005, as a Managing Director of Corporate Strategy & Planning Department since 2005 and as a Director of our company since 2005.

 

Bunya Kumagai joined NTT Public Corporation in 1975. He became a Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Sales Promotion Department of our company in 2003. He became an Executive Vice President and a Managing Director of Marketing Division of NTT DoCoMo Tokai in 2005. He has served as a Senior Vice President of our company since 2006, as a Managing Director of Marketing Division since 2006 and as a Director of our company since 2006.

 

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Kazuto Tsubouchi joined NTT Public Corporation in 1976. He became a Senior Vice President and a Managing Director of Accounts and Finance Department of NTT DoCoMo Kansai in 2004. He has served as a Senior Vice President of our company since 2006, as a Managing Director of Accounts and Finance Department since 2006 and as a Director of our company since 2006.

 

Sakuo Sakamoto joined NTT Public Corporation in 1981. He has served as a Senior Vice President of our company since 2005. He has served as a General Manager of Department I of NTT since 2003 and as a Director of our company since 2005.

 

Shinichi Nakatani joined NTT Public Corporation in 1966. He became a Senior Vice President and a Director of our company in 1995 and an Executive Vice President of NTT Advanced Technology Corporation in 1998. He has served as a full-time Corporate Auditor since 2002.

 

Shoichi Matsuhashi joined NTT Public Corporation in 1969. He became the President of DoCoMo Engineering Tohoku in 2002. He has served as a full-time Corporate Auditor of our company since 2004.

 

Katsuhiko Fujiwara joined NTT Public Corporation in 1969. He became the President of TelWel West Nippon Corporation in 2001. He has served as a full-time Corporate Auditor of our company since 2006.

 

Keisuke Nakasaki joined NTT Public Corporation in 1965. He became the President and Chief Executive Officer of NTT America, Inc. in 1998. He became a full-time Corporate Auditor in 2000. He has served as a Corporate Auditor of our company since 2006.

 

Michiharu Sakurai became a professor of Accounting at Senshu University in 1979. He has served as a Corporate Auditor of our company since 2003.

 

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The following table shows information about the company’s Corporate Officers as of June 27, 2006, including their positions and responsibilities.

 

Name


  

Position


  

Responsibility


Corporate Officers:

         

Seiji Tanaka

   Executive Vice President   

Deputy Managing Director of Corporate Marketing Division

Managing Director of Corporate Marketing Department I, Corporate Marketing Division

Yojiro Inoue

   Senior Vice President    General Manager, Marunouchi Branch

Hiroaki Nishioka

   Senior Vice President    General Manager, Kanagawa Branch

Fumio Nakanishi

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of DIG Promotion Office, General Affairs Department

Masatoshi Suzuki

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Public Relations Department

Fumio Iwasaki

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Network Planning Department, Network Division

Tsuyoshi Nishiyama

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Procurement and Supply Department

Mitsunobu Komori

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Core Network Engineering Department, Network Division

Takeshi Natsuno

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Multimedia Services Department, Products & Services Division

Masaki Yoshikawa

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Global Coordination Department, Global Business Division

Tatsuji Habuka

   Senior Vice President   

Managing Director of Research and Development Planning Department, Research and Development Division

Managing Director of Global Network Development Department, Research and Development Division

Akiko Ide

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Corporate Citizenship Department

Yuji Araki

   Senior Vice President    EC (Electronic Commerce) promotion

Kiyoshi Tokuhiro

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Ubiquitous Services Department, Products & Services Division

Seiji Nishikawa

   Senior Vice President    Managing Director of Information Systems Department

 

(Directors who concurrently serve as Corporate Officers are not included in the above list.)

 

B. Compensation.

 

The aggregate compensation we paid to the 25 Directors and six Corporate Auditors during the year ended March 31, 2006 was ¥322 million and ¥64 million, respectively. We paid ¥103 million as bonuses to 24 Directors and ¥23 million as bonuses to five Corporate Auditors during the year ended March 31, 2006. In accordance with customary Japanese business practices, a retiring Director or Corporate Auditor receives a lump-sum retirement payment, which is subject to the approval of the general meeting of shareholders. Total expenses for retirement benefits for five Directors and one Corporate Auditor in the year ended March 31, 2006 amounted to ¥169 million and ¥10 million, respectively.

 

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C. Board Practices.

 

Information required by this item is set forth in Items 6.A. and 6.B. of this annual report. We do not have any contracts with directors or corporate auditors providing for severance benefits upon termination of employment.

 

D. Employees.

 

The information required by this item is set forth in Item 4.B. of this annual report.

 

E. Share Ownership.

 

Information required by this item is set forth in Item 6.A. of this annual report and below. We have not granted stock options to any of our directors or corporate auditors and we do not currently have any stock option plans approved pursuant to which they may be granted shares or stock options.

 

As of June 20, 2006, our Directors and Corporate Auditors owned 775 of our shares. Currently, most of our Directors and Corporate Auditors participate in a director stock purchase plan, pursuant to which a plan administrator makes open market purchases of shares for the accounts of participating directors on a monthly basis.

 

Certain of our employees, our eight regional subsidiaries’ employees and certain other of our subsidiaries’ employees participate in an employee stock purchase plan, pursuant to which a plan administrator makes open market purchases of our shares for the accounts of participating employees on a monthly basis. Such purchases are made out of amounts deducted from each participating employee’s salary. In addition, if the employee chooses to participate in an optional benefit plan, we contribute ¥80 for each ¥1,000 contributed by the employee.

 

Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions.

 

A. Major Shareholders.

 

As of March 31, 2006, NTT owned 27,640,000 shares, or 62.2% of our outstanding voting shares and 59.0% of our total issued shares. To the best of our knowledge, no other shareholder beneficially owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares. The Government of Japan, through the Minister of Finance, owned 38.5% of the voting rights of NTT as of the same date. NTT does not have any special voting rights. For more information regarding our relationship with NTT, see Item 4.B. “Business Overview—Relationship with NTT”.

 

In February 2001, as a result of our issuance of new shares, NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares fell from 67.1% to 64.1%. In August 2002, in connection with a share exchange with our regional subsidiaries in which we repurchased some of our shares from NTT, NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares fell from 64.1% to 63.0%. In September 2003, in response to our repurchase of shares by way of a tender offer, NTT sold a portion of its interest and NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares fell from 63.0% to 61.6%. And in August 2004, in response to our repurchase of shares by way of a tender offer, NTT sold a portion of its interest and NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares fell from 61.6% to 58.1%. At the end of March 2005, we canceled approximately 1.48 million shares, which were held as treasury stock, increasing NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares from 58.1% to 59.8%. In August 2005, in response to our repurchase of shares by way of a tender offer, NTT sold a portion of its interest and NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares fell from 59.8% to 56.8%. At the end of March 2006, we canceled approximately 1.89 million shares, which were held as treasury stock, increasing NTT’s share ownership of our company’s total issued shares from 56.8% to 59.0%.

 

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The ownership and distribution of the shares by category of shareholders according to our register of shareholders and register of beneficial shareholders as at March 31, 2006 were as follows:

 

Category


   Number of
Shareholders


   Number of
Shares Held


   Outstanding Voting
Shares


Japanese financial institutions

   319    4,671,723    9.98

Japanese securities companies

   94    494,676    1.06

Other Japanese corporations

   3,604    28,370,844    60.61

Foreign corporations and individuals

   949    7,013,421    14.98

Japanese individuals, treasury shares and others

   428,032    6,259,336    13.37
    
  
  

Total

   432,998    46,810,000    100.00
    
  
  

According to The Bank of New York, depositary for our ADSs, as of March 31, 2006, 278,661 shares of our common stock were held in the form of 27,866,100 ADRs and there were 20ADR holders of record in the United States. According to our register of shareholders and register of beneficial shareholders, as of March 31, 2006, there were 432,998 holders of common stock of record worldwide. As of March 31, 2006, there were 163 record holders of our common stock with addresses in the United States, whose shareholdings represented approximately 5.0% of the issued common stock on that date. Because some of these ADSs and shares were held by brokers or other nominees, the number of record holders with addresses in the United States may be fewer than the number of beneficial owners in the United States.

 

None of our shares of common stock entitles the holder to any preferential voting rights.

 

We know of no arrangements the operation of which may at a later time result in a change of control.

 

On January 25, 2002, our Board of Directors declared a five-for-one common stock split. The record date for the split was March 31, 2002, and the new shares were distributed on May 15, 2002.

 

B. Related Party Transactions.

 

We have entered into cost-sharing and construction and maintenance contracts with Japan Mobile Communications Infrastructure Association (former In-Tunnel Cellular Association), the Chairman of which, Fumio Iwasaki, was also one of our directors until June 21, 2005. After a resolution of our Board of Directors, the contracts were entered into on terms similar to those made with third parties. Income from such contracts was ¥217 million during the period Mr. Iwasaki served as a director for the year ended March 31, 2006. The results of these transactions were reported to and approved by our Board of Directors.

 

For information regarding our relationship with NTT, see Item 4.B. “Business Overview—Relationship with NTT”.

 

C. Interests of Experts and Counsel.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. Financial Information.

 

A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information.

 

Financial Statements

 

The information required by this item is set forth beginning on page F-2 of this annual report.

 

Legal or Arbitration Proceedings

 

The information on legal or arbitration proceedings required by this item is set forth in Item 4.B. of this annual report.

 

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Dividend Policy

 

We consider returning profits to shareholders an important corporate policy while, at the same time we are making efforts to strengthen our financial position and maintain internal reserves. We aim to continue stable dividend payments taking into account our consolidated financial result and the business environment, with the goal to continue to pay regular dividends.

 

We expect to pay an annual dividend of ¥4,000 per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, which will consist of a ¥2,000 interim dividend and a ¥2,000 year-end dividend.

 

B. Significant Changes.

 

Except as otherwise disclosed herein, there has been no significant change in our financial position since March 31, 2006, the date of our last audited financial statements.

 

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Item 9. The Offer and Listing.

 

A. Offer and Listing Details.

 

Price Ranges of Shares

 

Since October 1998, our shares have been listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On June 20, 2006, the closing sale price of our shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was ¥166,000 per share. Our shares are also quoted and traded through the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. The following table indicates the daily closing sale price of our shares, the average daily trading volume and the closing levels of the Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX for the periods indicated:

 

    Tokyo Stock
Exchange Price per
share (1)


 

Average

daily trading
volume of
shares


  Closing TOPIX

  Closing Nikkei Stock
Average


    High

  Low

    High

  Low

  High

  Low

Fiscal Period

                                       

1998 (from October 22, 1998 to March 31, 1999):

  ¥ 259,200   ¥ 162,000   96,460   ¥ 1,269.76   ¥ 1,028.61   ¥ 16,378.78   ¥ 13,232.74

1999:

                                       

First Quarter

    344,000     232,400   90,875     1,425.64     1,292.07     17,782.79     15,972.68

Second Quarter

    420,000     330,000   49,700     1,535.23     1,420.64     18,532.58     16,821.06

Third Quarter

    814,000     414,000   91,170     1,722.20     1,460.23     18,934.34     17,254.17

Fourth Quarter

    914,000     610,000   79,140     1,754.78     1,558.15     20,706.65     18,168.27

2000:

                                       

First Quarter

    870,000     518,000   82,020     1,732.45     1,504.93     20,833.21     16,008.14

Second Quarter

    680,000     502,000   49,065     1,613.89     1,439.43     17,614.66     15,626.96

Third Quarter

    674,000     390,000   57,130     1,512.20     1,255.16     16,149.08     13,423.21

Fourth Quarter

    514,000     360,000   80,095     1,337.63     1,161.97     14,032.42     11,819.70

2001:

                                       

First Quarter

    580,000     392,000   73,745     1,440.97     1,254.19     14,529.41     12,574.26

Second Quarter

    438,000     228,000   78,960     1,293.42     990.80     12,817.41     9,504.41

Third Quarter

    364,000     278,000   89,275     1,107.83     988.98     11,064.30     9,924.23

Fourth Quarter

    369,000     262,000   94,008     1,125.43     922.51     11,919.30     9,420.85

2002:

                                       

First Quarter

    373,000     274,000   74,292     1,139.43     984.28     11,979.85     10,074.56

Second Quarter

    303,000     201,000   72,296     1,050.14     886.39     10,960.25     9,075.09

Third Quarter

    257,000     203,000   57,337     903.37     815.74     9,215.56     8,303.39

Fourth Quarter

    258,000     201,000   63,408     865.43     770.62     8,790.92     7,862.43

2003:

                                       

First Quarter

    276,000     225,000   64,097     865.43     770.62     9,137.14     7,607.88

Second Quarter

    315,000     260,000   84,490     904.32     773.10     11,033.32     9,265.56

Third Quarter

    291,000     216,000   99,485     1,075.73     915.91     11,161.71     9,614.60

Fourth Quarter

    249,000     213,000   109,584     1,105.59     953.19     11,770.65     10,365.40

2004:

                                       

First Quarter

    241,000     187,000   96,995     1,217.87     1,053.77     12,163.89     10,505.05

Second Quarter

    211,000     173,000   91,867     1,188.42     1,084.64     11,896.01     10,687.81

Third Quarter

    199,000     174,000   78,790     1,149.63     1,073.20     11,488.76     10,659.15

Fourth Quarter

    189,000     174,000   89,373     1,203.26     1,132.18     11,966.69     11,238.37

2005:

                                       

First Quarter

    183,000     160,000   88,149     1,201.30     1,109.19     11,874.75     10,825.39

Second Quarter

    207,000     162,000   126,789     1,428.13     1,177.61     13,617.24     11,565.99

Third Quarter

    213,000     178,000   149,309     1,663.75     1,371.37     16,344.20     13,106.18

Fourth Quarter

    199,000     167,000   163,559     1,728.16     1,572.11     17,059.66     15,341.18

Calendar Period

                                       

2005:

                                       

December

    189,000     178,000   171,521     1,663.75     1,559.81     16,344.20     15,130.50

2006:

                                       

January

    199,000     180,000   227,213     1,710.77     1,574.67     16,649.82     15,341.18

February

    183,000     171,000   142,780     1,713.47     1,572.11     16,747.76     15,437.93

March

    178,000     167,000   127,475     1,728.16     1,605.58     17,059.66     15,627.49

April

    177,000     168,000   159,578     1,783.72     1,710.76     17,563.37     16,906.23

May

    185,000     170,000   197,062     1,755.03     1,579.26     15,467.33     17,291.67

June (through June 20, 2006)

    179,000     164,000   130,067     1,606.11     1,458.30     15,789.31     14,218.60

(1) On January 25, 2002, our Board of Directors declared a five-for-one common stock split. The record date for the split was March 31, 2002, and the new shares were distributed on May 15, 2002. Due to this stock split, there are 40,144,000 additional shares issued and 50,180,000 total shares in issue.