NTT DoCoMo to stop selling prepaid mobile phone

Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo, Inc. has decided to stop accepting new applications for "Pre-Call" prepaid mobile phones on 31March 2005.

The company says the prepaid mobile phones are being used for fraudulent purposes. DoCoMo started asking Pre-Call service applicants to produce personal identification in July 2000. In September 2003, DoCoMo also started requesting prepaid applicants to register their name, address, date of birth and home telephone number, the same information required of NTT DoCoMo's regular mobile phone service applicants. NTT DoCoMo then began sending this registration information to Pre-Call users for confirmation.

As of last December, DoCoMo began requesting Pre-Call users who had applied before September 2003 to register their name. The company has also reserved the right to terminate service if an existing user is not willing to verify identification.

However, as fraudulent use has persisted, DoCoMo has decided to stop accepting new applications and will consider terminating the service entirely if problems continue.

From April, the company will suggest to users that they subscribe to alternative services, such as mobile phone rental services or "Limit Plus," which enables users to limit monthly charges.

DoCoMo launched the Pre-Call service in May 1999. The number of subscribers peaked at about 210,000 in March 2001, after which the number began decreasing. About 80,000 customers were using the service as of January 2005.