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Japanese carrier faces subscriber exodus over lack of iPhone 5

Published Dec 7th, 2012 10:04PM EST

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T-Mobile isn’t the only carrier that’s been hurt by not having the iPhone. Reuters reports that NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest wireless carrier, saw a net loss of almost 41,000 subscribers over the last month and the iPhone is taking blame as the primary culprit. NTT DoCoMo said that last month’s subscriber loss was the first it had seen in over five years and Reuters says this happened because “users switched to Softbank Corp and KDDI Corp to grab an Apple (AAPL) iPhone 5 supplied in Japan by the two smaller carriers.” Softbank’s subscribers in November grew by nearly 302,000 while KDDI’s grew by 228,000, Reuters notes.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.