It was a bold statement in small packages. On Aug. 5, Hewlett-Packard said it was planning to sell portable, Web-connected computers that can tap Japan’s cellular networks without requiring users to be locked into a contract with a wireless operator. The computers — laptops, netbooks, and touchscreen tablets — will come with 100 minutes of free airtime and a built-in, pay-as-you-go wireless system when they go on sale next month.

HP’s event, at a downtown Tokyo hotel, was a small affair, attracting just a few dozen journalists and one TV camera. But among industry executives and analysts, HP’s latest move is attracting a lot of attention: It could end up rewriting the rules in Japan’s wireless industry.

HP, in effect, will become a mobile operator — in industry jargon, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That means the Palo Alto (Calif.) company will get to decide what type of gizmos to connect to the network — and will keep for itself most of the revenues from airtime use. Having a tech manufacturer double as an operator poses a threat to Japan’s three largest wireless operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and SoftBank.

Undercutting the Operators’ Control

Operators traditionally have exerted tight control of the airwaves used to deliver telecommunication signals to consumers. They have the final say by which phones, PCs, and other gizmos can tap their network, and how much to charge subscribers for service. The iPhone, for which Apple is said to get up to 30 percent of the operators’ revenues from iPhone subscribers’ monthly payments, was the first to shift the balance of potential away from operators. HP will take that a step further.

The Japanese government’s decision last year to force operators to sell unused bandwidth to new entrants helped. HP will rent spectrum from Japan Communications [JCI], a tiny Tokyo operator. JCI…

[Source] dhiram