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| Press Release |
July
12 , 1999 |
| Comfortable,
Seamless PHS/New Media |
DDI
POCKET Introduces 
High Performance Communication Terminals |
| Through
the expansion of service area and infrastructure and introducing
high-performance terminals, the DDI POCKET TELEPHONE Group
companies aim to provide an entirely different level of
service from that achieved with existing PHS systems.The
category name for the new high-performance communication
terminals is: |
 |
| (pronounced
"Edge") |
| high-performance
communication terminals offer the following functions
as standard, reflecting user needs: |
| 1. Seamless Connections → Improved
Handover for Comfortable Communication Even When On the
Move |
| During a call, the handset
seeks out several base stations and switches to the base
station that provides the strongest signal.This approach
greatly reduces handover time (to between 1/4 and 1/20
of the time previously required) offering comfortable,
seamless communication even while on the move within the
service area. |
| 2. "High-speed, Dropout-free
Data Communications" → The "α-DATA64"
64 kbps Data Communications Function |
Incorporating this 64kbps
data communications function allows users to enjoy low
cost mobile computing with transmission speeds comparable
to those offered by ISDN.
The "best effort" method adopted by the DDI POCKET TELEPHONE
Group responds flexibly to the communications environment
and is characterized by dropout-free connections. |
| 3. P-mail DX Function
Caters to a Wide Range of Needs, from Direct Mail to e-Mail |
The P-mail DX function
allows users to register an e-mail address and to send
and receive e-mail at no extra charge (note that users
are required to pay call charges).
A convenient feature allows mail to be sent directly between
terminals that support P-mail DX.
Users can also access to a range of information services
in mail format.
Through the release of new high-performance terminals,
the DDI POCKET TELEPHONE Group aims to position as
a new kind of media that is neither PHS nor cellular telephone,
born of the synergy between greatly improved service area
and infrastructure conditions and high-performance terminals,
and actively market it as such with a view to attracting
many new users.
Handsets featuring the P-mail DX function are to be introduced
by a number of manufacturers, beginning with Sanyo Electric
Co., Ltd. (scheduled for July). Seiko Instruments Inc.
(SII) is due to launch a 64 kbps data communications card. |
| Purpose of Introduction
and Performance of High-Performance
Communication Terminals |
| 1. What is
? |
The advantages of PHS include
outstanding sound quality, high-speed data communications,
low power consumption, and low charges, but while the
PHS network was still under construction, evaluations
tended to focus on comparisons of PHS with cellular telephone
services or on ease of use when on the move, and since
few users made much use of mobile communications, the
advantages of PHS were not fully realized.
Four years later, our service area is beginning to match
the way customers use our service, and given the increasing
emphasis on quality (sound, etc.) and the coming of the
age of mail and other data communications, the time has
come to proclaim the advantages of PHS.
Incorporating further advances in networks and handsets,
is a
high-performance medium that achieves even greater speed
and mobility for stable, dropout-free seamless communication.
is a
progressive new communications medium. |
| 2. Three Outstanding
Functions of |
| (1) |
"Comfortable,
seamless Communication" → Greatly Improved
Handover Performance, Even When On the Move |
| |
The gradual
expansion and improvement of service area since the service
was launched and the "exhaustive expansion within the
living environment" that we have been addressing this
year, have greatly improved infrastructure conditions
and the introduction of base station handover early this
year has brought a spectacular improvement in the conditions
of use of DDI Pocket's service.
In addition to these developments, the "Twin Wave" function
achieves comfortable, seamless communication through greatly
improved handover performance of handsets and synergy
with the expansion and improvement of infrastructure.
During a call, Twin Web tells the handset to seek out
several base stations and automatically switch to the
base station that provides the strongest signal (handover),
so as to assure a stable and seamless connection.
This approach greatly reduces handover time (1/-1/20 of
DDI POCKET's current handover time), making handover virtually
imperceptible.
This function makes it possible not only to assure stable
connections at all times, even in town, but also to achieve
comfortable, seamless communication when on the move. |
 |
| (2) |
"Best Effort"
Approach Offers High-Speed, Dropout-Free Data Communications
at 64 kbps |
| |
In late July (precise date
to be announced) the DDI POCKET TELEPHONE Group will launch
a 64 kbps data communications service offering transmission
speeds comparable to those achieved by ISDN (fixed network),
at low charges.
DDI has adopted a "best effort" approach (based on the
PIAFS 2.1 standard) to the provision of 64 kbps data communications
allowing it to provide a high-speed, dropout-free data
communications service.
With the new service, connections are basically made at
64 kbps, but where traffic is heavy and it is not possible
to secure two lines, for instance during peak hours or
in downtown areas, connections are initially made using
a single line (at 32 kbps) and are upgraded to 64 kbps
as soon as a second line becomes available.
Should one of the two lines be interrupted, for instance
when the user is on the move, the system gives priority
to securing communication and maintains a 32 kbps connection,
which is upgraded to 64 kbps as soon as a second line
becomes available.
The "best effort" method not only achieves a high speed
of 64 kbps but also emphasizes continuity of communication
(dropout-free data communication) and provides a stable
data communications environment. |
| (3) |
"P-mail
DX" Function Caters to a Wide Range of Needs, from Direct
Mail to e-Mail |
| |
The new service expands
on mail functions, including not only P-mail, which could
be regarded as the leading short message function, but
also allowing users to register their own e-mail address
and send and receive Internet mail using only a handset,
while the "P-mail DX" function allows direct exchange
of mail.
P-mail DX offers the following features:
·sending and reception of e-mail,
·direct exchange of mail between P-mail DX users,
·exchange of mail between P-mail DX users using
nicknames only,
·access to text-based information services, and
·a short message (P-mail) function.
The number of P-mail DX users has reached approximately
1 million owners of compatible handsets or approximately
300,000 registered addresses (nicknames), and is set to
see further rapid growth. DDI POCKET has made P-mail DX
a standard function of to
emphasize the fact that it is the easiest-to-use of all
mail functions. |
| 3. The Meaning of |
| The meaning of the new
category name is as follows; |
| (1) |
The name is
intended to evoke the concepts "Hybrid", "High-quality",
and "Hyper". |
| (2) |
The "H" shape
also represents the shape of a base station. |
| (3) |
Pronouncing
H" as "edge" is intended to impart the nuances of the
word "edge" ("sharp", "having a lead over others" and
"having one's own style") to the image of the communications
services provided by the DDI POCKET TELEPHONE Group.
Our aim is to dispel the conventional image of PHS and
encourage users to see as
a new kind of media that is neither PHS nor cellular telephone,
as an advanced service apable of handling a wide range
of types of communcation needs, from voice to mail and
data. |
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