Softbank, DoCoMo Fighting Over iPhone?

The iPhone launched in the U.S., this summer, and is now available in parts of Europe: now, reports have Apple pitting DoCoMo against Softbank to launch the iPhone in Japan.

Whether you love it, hate it, or are merely indifferent to it, there’s little denying that the Apple iPhone has made a major splash in the mobile industry. As a result, overseas carriers are eager to get an exclusive lock on offering the iPhone in their respective markets. Now, reports have Apple meeting with executives of Japan’s leading mobile operator, DoCoMo, as well as Japan’s number three mobile operator Softbank, and there’s little doube what they could be talking about: landing that exclusive iPhone contact in Japan.

According to Reuters, Apple executives have been meeting with both companies during 2007 to discuss Apple’s requirements for landing an exclusive lock on the iPhone. However, both companies have been reluctant to agree to the share of subscriber revenue Apple wants for the deal—some reports put that figure as high at 10 percent for the lifetime of the iPhone service contact. (Some estimates in the U.S., put Apple’s share of iPhone revenue at $18 per month per iPhone subscriber.) The Wall Street Journal reports executives from both operators have repeatedly travelled to Apple’s Cupertino campus, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs has met with DoCoMo president Masao Nakamura.

Japan is a prime market for any mobile phone maker, with over 100 million mobile phone users who, on average, upgrade their phones every two years. Apple also has a strong brand presence in Japan, where its iPod line has been very successful. And, whereas iPhone prices may seem prohibitive in the U.S. and Europe, Japanese mobile phone users somewhat accustomed to the notion of high-end devices offering a wide variety of capabilities.