i-mode comes to Germany

NEWS Germany could be the first European country to gain access to NTT DoCoMo's i-mode net access service. Japan's biggest mobile phone operator has signed a deal with E-Plus, Germany's third largest mobile outfit, which will lead to i-mode being available throughout the country within two months. But if the companies manage to roll it out before the end of March, it will be the first i-mode service in Europe, beating KPN's schedule of an April implementation in the Netherlands and Belgium. DoCoMo owns 15 per cent of KPN Mobile.