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November 13, 2005
Japan Expanding Cell Phone to Pay
Japanese cellular giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will buy a 42% stake in Tower Records Japan Inc., which sells music CDs and DVDs, this month in an effort to widen its customer base and diversify its services.
NTT DoCoMo said in a news release that it will spend 12.8 billion yen ($108.2 million) to buy the stake. As part of their alliance, the two companies will bolster services that distribute information about music to DoCoMo's mobile phone users.
NTT DoCoMo also is looking at introducing its mobile phone-based electronic money and credit-card services at the retail stores operated by Tower Records, a move that would enable customers to pay for music by waving their mobile phones near sensors placed at cash registers. As of the end of September, about 6.5 million NTT DoCoMo subscribers owned a cellular phone handset with such e-money and credit-card functions.
Posted by admin at November 13, 2005 01:33 PM