InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

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Japan's No. 2 telecom KDDI posting 3G success, raises forecast<



RELATED SYMBOLS: (KDDIF)

TOKYO, Feb 04, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- KDDI Corp. posted a profit
of 51.3 billion yen (US$427 million) for the first nine months of the fiscal
year on the success of its third-generation mobile phone service.

Japan's second-largest telecommunications company began reporting quarterly
earnings for the first time Tuesday, so on-year comparisons weren't possible.

The Tokyo-based company said the 2 trillion yen (US$16.6 billion) revenue for
the April-December period was driven by the success of its cell phone service
using a technology called "CDMA2000 1x."

Handsets with 1x are slower in relaying information than 3G phones from domestic
rival NTT DoCoMo, but 1x phones are cheaper. They can also relay fast-speed
video like DoCoMo phones.

KDDI revised its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March, expecting
demand for 3G to stay strong, marketing costs to ease and data communications
revenue to climb.

KDDI expects fiscal 2002 profits to total 54 billion yen (US$449 million), up
from the previous forecast for 49 billion and more than four times the 13
billion yen profit in fiscal 2001.

Since KDDI's 3G began last April, it has attracted 4.67 million subscribers,
sharply outperforming DoCoMo's 3G, which has attracted only 152,000 users.

Consumers have flocked to KDDI's service because of the wider coverage area,
lower prices and longer battery life. E-mail attachments of 15-second videos
users can take with the digital cameras in the handsets have also proved
popular.



Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved

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KEYWORD: TOKYO

(Wall Street)





Daniel Nieves