() is a Japanese telecommunications operator. It was established in 2000 through the merger of , , and . In 2001, it merged with a subsidiary named Au (mobile phone company), Au, which was formed through the merger of seven automotive and mobile phone companies from the DDI-Cellular Group. As of 2020, it is the second-largest mobile telecommunications provider in Japan in terms of the number of contracts, following NTT Docomo. KDDI provides mobile cellular services using the Au brand. ISP network services are provided under the au one net brand, while "au Hikari" is the name under which long-distance and international voice and data communications services and Fiber to the x, Fiber to the Home (FTTH) services are marketed. ADSL broadband services carry the brand name "ADSL One", and IP telephony over copper is branded as "Metal Plus".

History

On April 1, 2002, au by KDDI launched 3G networks using CDMA2000 1x technology. On November 28, 2003, au by KDDI launched Evolution-Data Optimized, EV-DO Rev 0 service in the "CDMA 1X WIN" brand, and revolutionized Japan's mobile telecommunication industry by introducing fixed rate data subscription plans at a data rate of 2.4 Mbit/s. In December 2006, au by KDDI became the first carrier to provide an Evolution-Data Optimized#Rev A, EV-DO Rev A service at a data rate of 3.1Mbit/s (downlink), 1.8 Mbit/s (uplink). au by KDDI has been very successful with its EZ wireless data services, EZweb, EZweb@mail, EZappli, EZchakuuta, ezmovie, and EZnaviwalk (GPS), using the advanced Wireless Application Protocol, WAP technology. It supports both Java ME and Qualcomm Brew, BREW application environments. In November 2004 au by KDDI introduced the music include ringtone download service Chaku Uta Full (music ringtone full), for download of full length songs to mobile phones. Within six months from introduction, on June 15, 2005, customers had downloaded 10 million full length Chaku Uta Full songs. As of end of June 2005, au by KDDI has 20,122,700 customers, among which 18,723,200 (93%) are 3G CDMA2000 subscribers. It is Japan's second-largest cellular operator with an increasing 20.0% market share. On January 26, 2006, the first pointing local search application, Mapion Local Search - Powered by GeoVector, was launched on the KDDI network on their GPS and compass equipped handsets. In January 2007, KDDI announced its ten new 3G models for spring 2007, and a concept of its new designer phone Media Skin by Tokujin Yoshioka which would later be displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York with the Infobar, Talby and Neon models. Toshiba, Casio, Sanyo, Kyocera, Hitachi, Sony Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Sharp Corporation, Sharp, and Panasonic have manufactured the other models. In March 2007, Media Skin started selling. KDDI announced that it would collaborate with the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, HTC Corp. to sell the mobile phone HTC J in Japan starting May 2012. The HTC J mobile phone featured the Android 4.0 operating system. On October 21, 2011, KDDI buys Content Delivery Network CDNetworks For $167 Million. KDDI together with Sumitomo Group signed an agreement with Myanmar State owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications, Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT) in July 2014 to jointly operate a mobile phone service in Myanmar for next 10 years. Consumer showroom is set in Harajuku called, "KDDI Designing Studio". TU-KA (TU-KA by KDDI), a subsidiary company of KDDI, was a 2G Personal Digital Cellular, PDC cellular operator in three metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka), which did not apply a 3G license. TU-KA was best known for having singer Ayumi Hamasaki to appear in their commercials. TU-KA was closed on March 31, 2008. DDI Pocket, a Personal Handy-phone System, PHS operator, was previously owned by KDDI but was spun off as Willcom which is now incorporated into Y!Mobile. In August 2014, KDDI announced it was joining forces with five other global companies, including Google to build a 60 Tbit/s undersea data transmission cable linking the United States West Coast and Japan. The cable started operation in June 2016. KDDI and Ericsson began working together in December 2015 in order to research and develop 5G technology.

Lawsuits

In 2003, several class action complaints were filed against DDI for misrepresenting and/or failing to disclose material facts about the company's financial results. The parties agreed on a $4.4 million settlement in 2006.

References and footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kddi KDDI, Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Nikkei 225 Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1953 Japanese companies established in 1984 Mobile phone companies of Japan Telecommunications companies based in Tokyo Telecommunications companies established in 1953 Telecommunications companies established in 1984

History

Lawsuits

See also

References and footnotes