Japan Communications announced a second postponement of the full MVNO service launch, moving the launch date to spring 2027. The company said the delay was due to technical issues with voice/SMS interconnection with NTT DOCOMO.
Japan Communications announced that it would postpone the planned launch of a new service based on interconnection with NTT DOCOMO's voice and SMS networks by approximately five months from the originally scheduled date. This is the second postponement, and the official launch is now targeted for next spring.
In February 2024, the company reached an agreement on interconnection. It had planned to launch its full MVNO service on 24 May this year, the fiscal year marking its 30th anniversary, operating its own equipment to manage data and voice switching, subscriber information management and proprietary SIM issuance.
The company subsequently postponed the launch by six months, aiming to begin service on 24 November. However, technical issues were identified even after the interconnection agreement was signed in July, as the emergency communications network was built and interconnection work progressed, resulting in a further postponement.
As another example of a company moving toward becoming a full MVNO, mineo also plans to launch its service in the second half of the fiscal year.
The latest postponement appears to reflect the need to overcome technical issues before Japan Communications can establish a system for operating all functions, including data, voice and SMS, in-house.