Foundation: 1991
Headquarters: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
President: Motoyuki Ii
Executive Summary: NTT Docomo is a leading Japanese mobile phone operator that offers a broad spectrum of products including smartphones, personal computers, smartwatches, and routers, alongside services like public wireless LAN and international roaming. Originally named NTT Mobile Communications Network, it was separated from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in August 1991, officially forming in 1992. The company launched its first digital cellular service, mova 2G, in 1993 with the goal of taking over mobile cellular operations in Japan, eventually becoming the nation’s largest telecom provider with over 40% of mobile subscriptions by 2020.
NTT Docomo made its mark on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 1998 and introduced the world’s first mobile internet-services platform, i-mode, in 1999. In 2001, it revolutionized telecommunications by launching the world’s first 3G service using the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) standard, which the company had helped to develop. The company officially changed its name to NTT Docomo in 2000, where “Docomo” stands for “do communications over the mobile network” and also plays on the Japanese word “dokomo,” meaning “everywhere.”
In July 2008, NTT Docomo integrated with eight regional subsidiaries to streamline management and decision-making processes. The company launched one of the world’s first LTE services in 2010, marking a significant step towards 4G with faster data transmission speeds than 3G.
NTT Docomo now operates internationally across the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, serving over 70 million customers in Japan and employing approximately 27,000 people. Its annual revenue is in the range of US$45 billion.
