rosujin

This makes me so angry i can barely type on my keyboard! If Japan, of all countries, wants to investigate telco-related monopolies, they can take a look in the mirror!
I lived there for 3 years, just before modern smartphones caught on.

Years ago, NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading provider, had a CLEAR monopoly on cellular service and had a proprietary data/sms network called "i-Mode" which only worked on approved handsets with pre-loaded software made by Sharp, Sanyo and Sony. When the iPhone came out in '07 DoCoMo didn't see Apple as a threat. A competing provider,Softbank, brought the iPhone to Japan on its GSM network as a way to steal share. Before this, the Japanese cellular networks were not compatible with any phones made overseas and Japan was commonly referred to as the "walled-garden" or "the Galapagos." By the time modern cell phones began gaining momentum in Japan, DoCoMo tried to leverage their dwindling power by demanding that Apple make a DoCoMo version of the phone with company branding and pre-loaded software for its proprietary network. To their credit, Apple didn't budge and DoCoMo finally gave in when Apple proved to be more powerful than a cellular network.

Don't even get me started on NTT's land line service, which required that you buy non-refundable "usage rights" for about $800 for the privilege of having a phone subscription! (https://bbapply.com/tele/kenri.html)
After this, and many other shenanigans involving NTT, Japan finally wants to investigate a monopoly! Unbelievable!