Nokia to Offer Mobile-Phone Services in Japan, Yomiuri Reports

By Finbarr Flynn

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, plans to start offering luxury cell-phone services in Japan from March, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

Espoo, Finland-based Nokia intends to start selling its high-end Vertu handsets in Japan from February, and may roll out its mobile-phone services from March, the newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.

Nokia will rent telecommunication lines from NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest mobile-phone operator, and may announce details of the service by the end of this month, Yomiuri said.

Nokia’s entry will be the first time an overseas phone maker has competed in Japan’s mobile-phone services market, the newspaper said. The Finnish company will target high-income customers by offering 24-hour concierge services that allow customers to contact customer services representatives to book plane and hotel reservations, the Yomiuri said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Finbarr Flynn in Tokyo at fflynn3@bloomberg.net.