In a press conference last Friday, Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank, revealed his intentions for the Vodafone brand following his company’s recent acquisition of Vodafone’s Japanese arm.

Following much speculation, Son confirmed that the Vodafone brand will not stay and that a decision on a new brand would be made “as soon as possible”. The rebranding process itself is likely to last between six months and a year as advertising, shops, catalogues and handsets will all have to be stripped of the Vodafone logo.

There will inevitably be a period of overlap and this is likely to cause confusion and unease amongst consumers. During the rebranding process from J-Phone to Vodafone, there was a noticeable decrease in new subscribers during this transition period. Softbank’s proposed rebranding would coincide with the introduction of MNP in Japan – something rival operators will be eager to take advantage of.