Age: 61
Nationality: Japanese
www.nttdocomo.com

Most people in Europe's mobile sector know little about Tachikawa, but they can't afford to ignore his company. NTT DoCoMo represents the single biggest threat to Europe's burgeoning wireless industry. Since its February 1999 introduction of i-mode, a wireless Internet access service, DoCoMo has signed nearly 15 million subscribers.

The benefits to DoCoMo include new data fees, billing and collection commissions, additional voice minutes and lower churn rates. DoCoMo is expected to put its business model to good use in Europe. The firm has taken a 15% stake in Dutch operator KPN mobile and a 20% share of Hutchison 3G in the U.K., and has announced its intention to set up a subsidiary in Britain and a research lab in Germany.

DoCoMo is encouraging its partners to use third-generation w-cdma technology as the global standard for wireless Internet access. If this technology is adopted, the differences between i-mode, gsm and other mobile standards will disappear, leaving Tachikawa and NTT DoCoMo with an even bigger lead.

The vision thing: "We would like to promote w-cdma to establish compatibility in every country. That way we can establish our dream: that one terminal can be used throughout the world."

Forward spin: DoCoMo is expected to buy a minority stake in AT&T Wireless, allowing it to leverage its mobile Internet expertise in the U.S. market.

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