Japanese Firms to Develop Advanced Car Communication System

Amy Bickers
February 22, 2002
Tokyo

A major Japanese auto-maker and a telecommunications firm have unveiled a plan to jointly develop an advanced car communication system. VOA's Amy Bickers has that and more in our weekly look at Japanese business headlines.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile phone operator and Nissan, the country's third largest auto-maker say they will team up to develop advanced multimedia services for cars, known as telematics. The system will offer road-related information such as where to find local restaurants and the best price for gasoline. It will also include emergency assistance and communication services.

Under the deal, the information system will utilize DoCoMo's third-generation cell phone technology. It will be available in Nissan cars next year.

Keiji Tachikawa, DoCoMo's chief executive, says the companies expect this feature to figure prominently in 21st century cars. He says we are focusing on developing information technology for all kinds of things that move.

This article was a Japan business report, non-automotive content removed.