DoCoMo first to offer flat rate music service

The offering will permit i-mode consumers to acquire an unlimited number of full-length songs for a fixed monthly fee ofaround 2,000 yen ($16.77) a month. It should help DoCoMo claw back some ground on its rival KDDI, which has dominated the mobile music space with its very popular Chaku Uta service. KDDI was first to offer full-length songs, but does so on a pay per download basis.

The number of songs available will be slightly smaller than those for music download services that charge by the song. The flat-rate service will also only be available for new DoCoMo handsets installed with special software that go on sale from May.