A new report has suggested that the largest cellular carrier in Japan, NTT DoCoMo, is in talks with Apple over carrying the next iPhone. Rival carriers KDDI and Softbank – recent acquirers of Sprint – already carry the iPhone. From Sankei via Bloomberg:
Chief Financial Officer Kazuto Tsubouchi said there are compelling reasons for Apple and his company to reach an agreement, according to an interview published in SankeiBiz. For Apple, it doesn’t make business sense not to allow Japan’s largest wireless carrier to sell the iPhone, while DoCoMo wants to be able to sell most popular handsets, Sankei said.
A deal isn't yet done, nor is it a guaranteed thing, but it makes perfect sense for Apple to continue expansion in Japan, and NTT DoCoMo needs to be able to directly compete with their smaller rivals by offering the iPhone. The possible move mirrors somewhat the apparent ongoing talks over in China for China Mobile to finally begin offering the iPhone for sale.
