Leading Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has claimed it is one of the first operators to roll out Google's Carrier Billing service for Android.

 

The operator states that users have been able to buy apps from Android Market via their phone bill since the end of March.

Fitting the billing

The payment architecture was employed by German VAS provider net mobile AG, with the system designed to integrate other carriers in the future with ease.

"Users more and more appreciate the advantages of smartphones and mobile payment solutions," said net mobile AG CEO Theodor Niehues.

"The risks generally associated with payment transactions such as the disclosure of private credit card information are a thing of the past. Therefore, the net mobile AG plans to further expand its global business with mobile payment solutions."

The firm believes Android will gain significant momentum once all major European carriers are on board, though its own role in expanding the platform's share in Japan could be just as crucial.

US market leader AT&T rolled out carrier billing on Android back in December.

[source: Net-M]