TOKYO, Nov. 9, 2009 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: ADDING INFO IN 2ND GRAF, UPDATING WILLCOM FIGURE IN BOTTOM GRAF)

Softbank Mobile Corp. ranked first among Japanese cellphone service providers in net subscription gains in October for the third straight month, according to their announcements Monday.

Softbank Mobile, a subsidiary of Softbank Corp. (OOTC:SFTBY) , gained a net 97,500 new contracts in the reporting month, due to the continued popularity of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 3GS handsets marketed by the firm in Japan.

Emobile Ltd. replaced KDDI Corp. (OOTC:KDDIY) , which provides ''au'' mobile phone services, as the second-largest net contract gainer with 80,000 contracts.

NTT Docomo Inc. came third with 55,100 contracts, followed by KDDI with 27,500 contracts.

Willcom Inc., which provides mobile services using the personal handyphone system, posted a net loss of 40,400 contracts.