NTT DoCoMo looks again on the verge of selling the iPhone.
CFO Kazuto Tsubouchi told SankeiBiz there are compelling reasons for the carrier to sell Apple’s handset but Apple and DoCoMo have had their differences in the past. The Sankei report reiterated no terms for a deal have been reached yet.
DoCoMo has balked before at Apple’s purchase requirements while Apple has resisted the carrier’s insistence on pre-loading branded applications.
But earlier in the year, DoCoMo scaled back its Android phone orders for the fall leading to speculation that the carrier was making room on its balance sheet for the “iPhone 5S.”
SoftBank was the first Japanese carrier to sell the iPhone, a coup that helped contribute to the smaller carrier snatching away market share from DoCoMo. If DoCoMo picks up the iPhone, that advantage could be erased.
The Japanese markets seem to share that prediction, as Bloomberg points out DoCoMo shares are rising and SoftBank along with fellow Japanese carrier KDDI are sinking slightly.