O2 drops internet service
The UK’s largest mobile phone company, O2 has been forced to drop its mobile internet service, because of a lack of customer interest.
O2 has 546,000 subscribers to its i-mode service in the UK and Ireland - but this still represents a miserly three per cent of its 18 million-strong customer base in these two markets.
i-mode, developed by Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo, was meant to be the driving force behind the push to get phone owners in the UK to use lucrative services other than simply texting and making calls.
It allows people to use tailored internet services such as looking for a weather forecast or booking cinema tickets while on the move.
O2 signed a deal with DoCoMo to bring the service to the UK, after it enjoyed phenomenal success in Japan, acquiring 45 million subscribers on the Pacific island.
But it has blamed a lack of suitable handsets on poor take-up ratios.
"The service has proven to be successful with rich content and high satisfaction amongst users.
"However, a limited range of devices has restricted its growth and we don’t see that changing … We will continue to manage and serve any existing UK i-mode customers until July 2009," O2 said in a statement
