I have a hard time believing this survey, especially considering the rate at which FOMA has expanded. More information inside.

The Multimedia Research Institute carried out a survey of 1,300 cellular phone users, asking them what they thought about their reception situation.

In the survey, more than 1 in 3 users (37%, actually) answered that they were "not at all satisfied" or "not really satisfied" with their reception; they hoped for expansion of service areas and call quality. Compared to au's CDMA2000 and the PDC units of DoCoMo and Vodafone, the percentage of FOMA users "not satisfied" with their reception was much higher than others - 53%.

According to MMRI, reception of the FOMA network was unsatisfactory in areas such as underground, o­n the subway, or in the office; they call for an expansion of service area and a betterment of call quality.

The same firm found that while investments in 3G service equipment was at 751.6 million yen for 2004, this number is expected to drop to 558 million in 2006. Since there are expected to be 7 million 3G users by 2006, an expansion of the still small user base is necessary.

Inspired by:
http://k-tai.impress.co.jp/cda/article/news_toppage/19801.html

News Release:
http://www.m2ri.jp/newsreleases/main.php?id=010120040721500