Category: Telecommunications

  • Cash goes mobile and electronic. First to market in Japan and then what? (TTI-Vanguard conference keynote)

    The organizers of the legendary TTI-Vanguard conference series organized a conference on “Futureproofing” in Tokyo, and invited me to give a keynote on Japan’s creativity and first-to-market for many technologies and business models, and Japan’s difficulties to capture global value from this creativity, a phenomenon often called “Japan’s Galapagos syndrome“.

    The organizers, and particularly the legendary Bob Lucky and organizer Hal Levin made great efforts in assisting me to plan and prepare my talk. Although I was given about 30-40 minutes for my talk I was asked to present the conclusions in the first slide at the beginning of my talk and then essentially be prepared for open discussion during the 30-40 minutes instead of giving a traditional talk.

    I picked electronic money, near-field payments and mobile payments as an example to demonstrate Japan’s Galapagos syndrome.

    I started my talk with the following conclusions:

    • Conclusions 1: Japan has invented and first brought to market many new technologies and business models in today’s hottest areas, and Japan has been terrible at capturing global value from this incredible creativity
    • Conclusions 2: why does it take at least 10 years to reinvent the wheel in London?
    • Conclusions 3: WHAT is holding Japan back to capture global value from fantastic inventions?
  • Japan’s media revolution – a European perspective

    Presentation to a delegation of Denmark’s media leaders: printed media, newspapers, radio, TV

    at the Embassy of Denmark

    March 1, 2010

    Topic: “Japan’s media revolution – a European perspective”

    Agenda

    • Why is there no NOKIA in Japan?
      • Is Japan’s market difficult and closed?
      • What can we learn?
      • Nokia tried for 20 years to build a business in Japan and failed
      • Vodafone acquired Japan’s third largest mobile + fixed net telecom operator and failed
      • Airbus started very very late – and therefore has sold almost no airplanes in Japan Why?
      • You must listen to Japanese customers to build a healthy business in Japan
    • First to market in Japan vs Galapagos effect
    • Media and TV industry overview
    • Mobile TV
    • Cross platform example: BeeTV
    • For more details see our Report on Japan’s Media

  • Paradigm change of the global mobile phone business and opportunities for Japanese mobile phone makers

    presentation by Gerhard Fasol, at the Industry Association of Japanese telecom and networking equipment makers, Friday November 27, 2008, 15:00-16:30

    Presentation was fully booked several weeks before the talk, attended by about 100 managers and executives of Japan’s telecom equipment makers, and included also the Vice-Minister/Secretary of State of Japan’s General Affairs Ministry, which is responsible for telecom regulation in Japan.

    Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Paradigm change of the global mobile phone business and opportunities for Japanese mobile phone makers

    Presentation at the CEATEC Conference, talk NT-13, Meeting Room 302, International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe, Friday October 3, 2008, 11:00-12:00.

    See the announcement here [in English] and in Japanese [世界の携帯電話市場のパラダイム変更と日本の携帯電話メーカーのチャンス]

    The emergence of iPhone, Android, open-sourcing of Symbian, and the growth of mobile data services are changing the paradigm of the global mobile phone business opening new opportunities for Japanese mobile phone makers. Japan’s mobile phone handset makers have missed most opportunities during the first wave of mobile phone opportunities. The developing paradigm change opens new opportunities for Japanese makers. The talk will explain the paradigm shifts and trends of the global mobile phone handset market, and resulting opportunities for Japanese mobile phone makers, and will indicate how these opportunities can actually be realized.

    Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Will the iPhone trigger a turning point in Japan’s mobile phone industry?

    Will the iPhone trigger a turning point in Japan’s mobile phone industry?

    Tetsuzo Matsumoto (Senior Executive Vice-President and Board Member of SOFTBANK MOBILE Corporation),
    Gerhard Fasol (CEO, Eurotechnology Japan KK)
    and
    Dennis Normile (Japan Correspondent of SCIENCE Magazine, and FCCJ)
    discuss about the future of Japan’s mobile phone market.

    “Will the iPhone trigger a turning point in Japan’s mobile phone industry?”
    (Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Tokyo Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 12:00-14:00)
    (Photo: Copyright Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, used with permission)

    Left to right: Gerhard Fasol (Eurotechnology Japan), Tetsuzo Matsumoto (VP SoftBank-Mobile) and Dennis Normile discuss the iPhone market entry to Japan
    Left to right: Gerhard Fasol (Eurotechnology Japan), Tetsuzo Matsumoto (VP SoftBank-Mobile) and Dennis Normile discuss the iPhone market entry to Japan

    Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • The strengths of Japan’s post-Vodafone telecoms sector: opportunities for foreign companies and investors

    Gave talk organized by the Asia Pacific Technology Network (APTN) at the beautiful house of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation near Regents Park in London, title “The strengths of Japan’s post-Vodafone telecoms sector: opportunities for foreign companies and investors”

    Agenda:

    • Japan’s mobile communications markets – overview and key players
    • When European’s and Japanese talk about “Broad Band” they don’t mean the same thing. Status of FTTH and wireless broadband in Japan today vs Europe’s situation
    • Japan’s mobile telecommunications market: no GSM and no SMS, but a lot more
    • Opportunities for European companies
  • Help – my mobile phone does not work! – Why Japan’s mobile phone sector is so different from Europe’s

    Gerhard Fasol

    Presentation at the Lunch meeting of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) on March 16, 2007 at the Westin Hotel, Tokyo.

    https://web.archive.org/web/20090628161018/http://www.fcc.or.jp/lunch160307.html

    From the Announcement:

    In his presentation, Dr. Fasol will explain the essentials of Japan’s mobile phone market, why and how it is so different to Europe’s. He will also talk about some of the reasons why it is so difficult for European companies to succeed and uncover opportunities and the keys to success for European companies in this important market.

    More in our report about Japan’s telecom sector.

    Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK·All Rights Reserved

  • 3G Summit & Mobile Payment workshop

    22-25 January 2007 MarcusEvans organized the “Global 3G Evoluation Forum” in Makuhari near Tokyo.

    Speakers included:

    • Takanori Utano, Executive Vice-President and CTO of DoCoMo,
    • Takehiro Nakamura of NTT and Vice-Chairman of 3GPP
    • Jean-Pierre Bienaime, Chairman of the UMTS-Forum,
    • Gaston Ormazabal of Verizon Labs

    and many other leading mobile communications managers from all over the world.

    Jointly with Jan Larsson, General Strategy Manager of TeliaSonera International Carrier division, I chaired all sessions all day on Wednesday January 24, 2007.

    On Monday, January 22, 2007, I held a three hour workshop about “Mobile Payment”.

    Copyright·©2013 ·Eurotechnology Japan KK·All Rights Reserved·

  • Ericsson strategy for Japan

    Ericsson strategy for Japan

    Ericsson strategy for Japan: Ericsson Strategy & Technology Summit Tokyo on November 15, 2006

    CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg explains Ericsson’s strategy for the world’s most advanced mobile communications market: Japan

    Ericsson strategy for Japan explained at Ericsson’s Strategy & Technology Summit in Tokyo on November 15, 2006.

    Ericsson’s CEO, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson CSO – Chief of Strategy, Japan-CEO Rory Buckley and other Ericsson top management presented Ericsson’s strategy and vision. About 100 investors and investment bank analysts were invited to attend.

    I was given the opportunity to share the lunch table with CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg and had a fascinating discussion (some of his comments flowed into our company’s project report to the European Union on benchmarking Japan’s vs EU’s fixed and mobile telecommunications and broadband sectors).

    With some of the largest and most advanced mobile investments, Japan’s mobile market is one of the most important markets globally for Ericsson. Recently Ericsson won major contracts from SoftBank and eMobile.

    Ericsson CEO  Carl-Henric Svanberg speaking at the Ericsson Technology Summit in Tokyo
    Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg speaking at the Ericsson Technology Summit in Tokyo

    Copyright·©2013 ·Eurotechnology Japan KK·All Rights Reserved·

  • Briefing TeliaSonera top management

    The day before the Finland-Japan Ubiquitous Society Conference in Tokyo, I briefed the top-management (CEO, CTO and other top managers) of TeliaSonera, on October 26, 2006.

    The next day, October 27, 2006, the Finland-Japan Ubiquitous Society Conference was held. Tero Ojanpera, Exec VP and CTO of NOKIA, gave an overview of NOKIA’s vision of communications, other speakers and panelists included Juho Lipsanen, Finland CEO of TeliaSonera, KDDI Chairman Murakami.

    Nokia CTO Tero Ojanpera talking at the Finland Japan Ubiquitous Society Conference
    Nokia CTO Tero Ojanpera talking at the Finland Japan Ubiquitous Society Conference

    Panel discussion with TeliaSonera CEO Juho Lipsanen and KDDI-Chairman Murakami.

    Finland Japan Ubiquitous society meeting
    Finland Japan Ubiquitous society meeting

    Copyright·©2013 ·Eurotechnology Japan KK·All Rights Reserved·