=SoftBank

SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.

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Corporate History

1986 - 1990

Dec. 1986 Founded Railway Telecommunication CO., Ltd. (currently SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.)
May 1989 Railway Telecommunication CO., Ltd. merged with (former) JAPAN TELECOM CO., LTD. and changed the company name to JAPAN TELECOM CO., LTD. (currently SOFTBANK TELECOM Corp.)

1991 - 2000

July 1991 Founded Tokyo Digital Phone Co., Ltd. (currently SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.) (After this, two companies of Digital Phone Group and six companies of Digital TU-KA Group were founded.)
Apr. 1994 Tokyo Digital Phone Co., Ltd. (currently SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.) serviced in sequentially. (After this, two companies of Digital Phone Group and six companies of Digital TU-KA Group started their service sequentially.)
Started the second generation mobile telecom service.
Nov. 1997 Achieved e-mail transmission on mobile phone alone for the first time in Japan*1
Nov. 1998 Founded IMT-2000 Planning Co., Ltd. (currently SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.)
Launched “Sky Melody,” mobile telecom first*1 ring tone distribution service.
Oct. 1999 All companies of Digital Phone Group and Digital TU-KA Group changed the company name to J-Phone.
Apr. 2000 IMT-2000 Planning Co., Ltd. changed the company name to J-Phone Communications Co., Ltd.
May 2000 J-Phone Communications Co., Ltd. became a holding company of J-Phone Group.
Oct. 2000 Formed a three-operator nationwide organization through the merger among J-Phone East Co., Ltd., J-Phone Central Co., Ltd., and J-Phone West Co., Ltd.
Launched “Station,” Japan first*1 information broadcasting service per area.
Nov. 2000 Released “J-SH04,” a first mobile handset*1 mounting a digital camera.

2001 - 2010

Oct. 2001 J-Phone Group became an affiliate of Vodafone Group.
Nov. 2001 J-Phone Communications Co., Ltd., a holding company merged with J-Phone East Co., Ltd., J-Phone Central Co., Ltd., and J-Phone West Co., Ltd. and became J-Phone Co., Ltd.
Aug. 2002 JAPAN TELECOM CO., LTD. changed the company name to JAPAN TELECOM HOLDINGS CO., Ltd. and became a pure holding company.
Released “J-SH09,” a world first*1 mobile handset mounting QR code reader function.
Dec. 2002 Launched the third generation mobile telecom service using world first*1 3GPP compliant W-CDMA method.
Oct. 2003 J-Phone Co., Ltd. changed the company name to (former) Vodafone K.K.
Dec. 2003 JAPAN TELECOM HOLDINGS CO., Ltd. changed the company name to Vodafone Holdings K.K.
Released “V601N,” a Japan first*1 mobile handset mounting terrestrial analog TV tuner.
Oct. 2004 Vodafone Holdings K.K. and (former) Vodafone K.K. merged and changed the company name to Vodafone K.K.
Dec. 2004 Launched “Global roaming video call,” a Japan first*1 video phone call function supported overseas as well.
Feb. 2005 Released “V603SH,” a world first*1 mobile handset mounting “motion control sensor” detecting tilt or move of the handset.
Nov. 2005 Launched “LOVE Flat,” mobile telecom first*1 service to allow unlimited call and mail transmission to a designated destination.
Apr. 2006 Vodafone K.K. became an affiliate of the SOFTBANK Group.
May 2006 Released “Vodafone 905SH,” an AQUOS® model supporting one-seg broadcasting.
Oct. 2006 Changed the company name to SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. and changed the brand name to “SoftBank.”
Launched a new price plan, “Gold Plan.”
Jan. 2007 Launched a new price plan, “White Plan.”
Feb. 2007 Released “SoftBank 812SH,” a PANTONE® model with mobile handset first*1 20 color variations.
Mar. 2007 Launched “Double White,” discount option service exclusively for White Plan.
June 2007 Launched “White Plan Family Discount 24,” discount service for family users.
Number of subscribers to “White Plan” exceeded five million.
Dec. 2007 Number of subscribers to “White Plan” exceeded ten million.
Mar. 2008 Achieved No.1 in net additions of subscription for FY2007.
Launched “White Plan Corporate Discount 24,” a discount service for corporate users.
Released “Internet Machine 922SH.”
June 2008 Launched “White Plan Corporate Discount 24 Plus,” a discount service for corporate users.
Launched “White Call 24,” a voice call discount service.
Started providing “White Line 24,” an FMC service for corporate users.
July 2008 Released “iPhone 3G.”
Nov. 2008 The number of applications for “White Plan” exceeded 15 million.
Jan. 2009 The number of cumulative subscriptions exceeded 20 million.
Feb. 2009 Obtained a license of experimental wireless station for a wideband mobile wireless access technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) system and started outdoor demonstration experiments.
Mar. 2009 “S-1 BATTLE” was launched, a comedy video grand contest using mobile handsets.
Launched “White Office,” an FMC service for corporate users.
Apr. 2009 SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp., SOFTBANK BB Corp., and SOFTBANK TELECOM Corp., unified their service brand logo.
Launched “Simple Select Video,” an easy-to-enjoy video service providing sports information and show business news.
June 2009 Released “iPhone 3GS.”
Nov. 2009 Launched “Mobile Wi-Fi” realizing high-speed packet communications.
Mar. 2010 Announced “SoftBank Network Enhancement Initiative.”
Terminated the second generation mobile phone service.
Apr. 2010 Released highly functional Android™ smartphone, “HTC Desire™.”
May 2010 Released “iPad.”
Started pre-install of “Twitter Widget” for new models of summer 2010.
June 2010 Released “iPhone 4.”
July 2010 Launched “Unlimited Packet Discount for Overseas,” packet flat-rate service for overseas.
Dec. 2010 Released “GALAPAGOS SoftBank 003SH”, a 3D LCD smartphone with one-seg broadcasting capability.

2011 - to date

Jan. 2011 Achieved No.1*2 in net additions of subscription for 3 consecutive years.
[Notes]
  • *1Surveyed by the Company (as of the time of announcement)
  • *2Based on the number of net additions by mobile operators from January 2008 to December 2010 announced by Telecommunications Carriers Association.