NTT DoCoMo Inc. officially delayed the launch of its next-generation cellular service from May 30 to Oct. 1 but refused to call it a postponement.
Instead, DoCoMo officials said the new schedule will allow for checks of software for antenna bases, switch facilities and handset terminals, and that test services will commence May 30.
"Something unexpected could happen, given (what happened to) i-mode and the 503i (model)," DoCoMo President Keiji Tachikawa told a Tokyo news conference. "The possibility is not zero."