MEX

Japan’s J-Phone and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd said on Friday they would stand by plans to launch third-generation (3G) mobile services this year, despite a sluggish start to the high-speed service by industry leader NTT DoCoMo Inc. DoCoMo President Keiji Tachikawa said on Thursday that judging from the slow uptake of its service the company would probably have to lower its target of 1.38 million 3G subscribers by next March, casting a cloud over its growth prospects. J-Phone, Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier, said it still planned to launch its 3G service in December. “It’s way too early to draw any conclusion on 3G,” said a spokesman for J-Phone, which is operated by Japan Telecom Holdings Co Ltd and its parent Vodafone Group Plc. “We are talking about a service that is still at an early stage in its evolution,” he said.