Disney Plans Spring, 2008 Launch of Mobile Phone Service in Japan

In late September, TMCnet editor Stefania Viscusi reported on the possibility that Walt Disney Internet Group, after announcing the shutdown of its Disney Mobile phone service on Sept. 27, might be out of the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business for good.

 

The answer to that question is “Apparently not,” at least not for now. Wall Street Journal reported today that Walt Disney Co. and Softbank Corp. (a Japanese mobile operator) are teaming up to introduce a mobile phone service in Japan. The service will be called… drum-roll please… Disney Mobile.

 

Apparently the company is hoping that the Japanese market ends up being more lucrative than the U.S. Disney plans to use Softbank’s networks and sell phones at thousands of Softbank stores in Japan.

 

The U.S.-based Disney Mobile service was launched in April 2006 and lasted just about a year and a half before folding. (Existing customers will continue receiving support until Dec. 31, 2007; Verizon has stepped up to the plate with a special Chaperone Service deal for subscribers who want to transfer up to five phone numbers to another provider.) The service was geared toward families, providing kids with limited access to the Internet on phones configured to help parents track the whereabouts of their children.

 

The Disney Mobile service in Japan is slated for a spring, 2008 launch. No further details of the deal between Disney and Softbank were released.

 

When Disney announced the shutdown of its American MVNO operations, Walt Disney Internet Group president Steve Wadsworth said the company decided the wireless operator market in the U.S. was too competitive, and that more profitable opportunities for its content and services existed through other business models.

 

Only time will tell whether the sun will rise on Disney’s service in Japan for longer than it did in the U.S.

 

What do you think—is Japan a better market or is Disney making another mistake?