Mobile arm pulls itself together

NEWS The mobile arm of Japan Telecom J-Phone communications is to become J-Phone Co. Vodafone subsidiary J-Phone Communications is currently made up of four different companies, J-Phone East, J-Phone Central, J-Phone West and Japan Telecom will officially integrate on November 1. In a statement Koichi Sakata, chairman of Japan Telecom said he is convinced the merger of these different divisions would help with the launch of its next generation services and also help establish "a firm rivalry against NTT DoCoMo." Sir Christopher Gent echoed these comments emphasing a desire to gain ground on Japan's number one telco and said the merger "promises to generate significant synergy benefits and efficiency gains." Vodafone, who bought its stake in Japan Telecom and its mobile subsidiary J-Phone Communications in May for £3bn from its debt-ridden rival BT, will effectively control 60 per cent of J-Phone Co. Its 60 per cent stake has come from its 39.67 per cent stake in J-Phone Communications together with the 20.3 per cent gained indirectly from its 45 per cent stake in Japan Telecom.