NTT DoCoMo Inc. will enable subscribers to use their handsets as fixed-line phones at home, President Masao Nakamura said Tuesday.
The new service, expected to begin next year, will allow subscribers to Japan's largest mobile phone service provider to combine their fixed-line and mobile phone numbers. Usage of cell phones at home will be charged at the same rates as fixed-line phones, which are cheaper than those for cell phones.
While a number of cell phone operators have started similar services for corporate subscribers, NTT DoCoMo will be the first to offer the service for home use.
With the new service, people can use their handsets as fixed-line phones in their houses and as cell phones outside, Nakamura said.
The new service is made possible by combining a fixed-line service with a wireless local area network, or LAN, communications system.