Vodafone Eyes Unified Mobile-Fixed Phone Service

Tokyo, Sept. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Vodafone K.K. is approaching fixed-line telephone carriers about a tie-up for a service that will allow mobile handsets to be used as terminals of fixed-line phone networks at business offices, informed sources said Tuesday.

The most promising partner appears to be Japan Telecom Co., which used to belong to the same business group as the Japanese unit of Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC, the sources said.

The planned service will allow mobile phone users to gain wireless access to fixed-line phone networks within offices and use their handsets as internal phones.

Calls made within the offices will be subject to fixed-line rates, which tend to be cheaper than mobile phone rates.

Outside the offices, the handsets will be as mobile phones.

Vodafone K.K. is the third largest mobile phone carrier in Japan. To start the envisioned service, it has to join hands with a fixed- line phone firm.

By offering the service, Vodafone hopes to gain corporate clients so that it can better cope with the recent slowdown in the growth of the Japanese mobile phone market.

Other Japanese phone firms are preparing similar services. Among them, NTT Communications Corp. began its service through a tie-up with NTT DoCoMo Inc. earlier this month.END