UK grows i-mode fastest outside Japan

HAVING ACQUIRED some 0.25 million subscribers in just seven months, O2 claims its UK service is the fastest growing i-mode service outside Japan.

It also claims that some 75 per cent of those subscribers (ie 200,000) actually make at least one data connexion every 30 days.

That's a far higher take up than any WAP service. Since O2 operates a WAP portal, O2 Active, as well, it has also discovered that i-mode users spend twice as long online than WAP people. It wouldn't say, however, if they actually spend twice as much.

The UK service now boasts some 150 i-mode sites although it seems that many use i-mode to track what they would normally do via a PC. That is, go onto eBay to see how their bids are doing or go onto Kelkoo for shopping price comparisons.

Significantly, Streetmap - which started out on O2's i-mode service - was so impressive that it migrated the technology to WAP. O2 has obliged by offering both WAP and i-mode users free Streetmap maps.

One facility which O2 has kept under its hat, is that it now provides an i-mode subscriber's location free to its content providers if they choose to opt in, naturally.

The company claims it will be 'opening up' its support to any content provider that requests it - whereas previously it had been selective - targeting the providers it wanted.

02's comments on revenue sharing were also interesting. While it conceded that providers get a higher share on i-mode rather than WAP, this doesn't necessarily lead to higher revenues.

That's because O2 Active is still the UK's biggest WAP portal - exceeding both Vodafone Live! and Orangeworld. When Active and i-mode grow closer numbers, O2 said it would revue its revenue sharing models. µ