NTT DoCoMo reported that subscribers to DoCoMo's FOMA 3G mobile service surpassed the three million mark, just two months after reaching two million. The figure goes far beyond NTT DoCoMo's targeted figure of 2.4 million subscribers for fiscal 2003, which ends 31 March 2004.

DoCoMo attributes the rapid increase to its introduction of the 900i series, the most advanced 3G phones ever, with high-capacity Java-based i-appli applications, HTML email (Deco-mail), avatar-capable video phone (Chara-den), combined video and high-fidelity audio for incoming calls (Chaku-motion), and two-million-pixel cameras.

FOMA's subscriber base is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace as the service is further enhanced in terms of both competitiveness and functionality. In the near future, DoCoMo will begin offering FOMA users unlimited access to i-mode services for a flat monthly rate. It will also lower the minimum allowances of selected charge plans without raising the per-packet communication rates.