Masayoshi Son, the founder of Japan’s Softbank Corp., is obsessed with cell phones these days. In a press conference last month, he said: “I think about cellphones all the time.” He better be. Son had bought Vodafone Japan for $15 billion in March. There are a few things what Son is waiting for now. Japan is going to have number portabiliy from October 24 which will be key as some will lose customers and some will gain.
Son is not taking chances. He is spending $3.4 billion this year to improve the wireless network. Also, as Softbank owns 41 percent of Yahoo Japan, it plans to extend its auctions and banking services to wireless users. Softbank has also set up a “Yahoo Cafe” that offers free Internet access in Tokyo. A link to Yahoo is the top item on the menu when Vodafone users access the Web from their phones. “Yahoo is Softbank’s biggest weapon,” said Hironobu Sawake, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
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