Japanese operator NTT Docomo and five regional vendors are teaming up to produce new LTE chipsets for mobile devices.

The group, which includes Fujitsu, Fujitsu Semiconductor, NEC, Panasonic Mobile Communications and Samsung Electronics, plans to establish its joint venture company by the end of March 2012.

Docomo will invest around JPY450 million (US$5.8 million) in the venture via a wholly-owned subsidiary called Communication Platform Planning. This unit will be headed by Mitsunobu Komori, currently Chief Technical Officer of Docomo, by the middle of January.

In a statement, Docomo noted that the venture will focus on developing products for LTE and LTE-Advanced standards which will then be sold in markets globally. Specific details remain scant, with the statement adding that all parties are still agreeing terms and conditions. Of note, the statement added that the group's efforts will see the development of small-size, low-power-consumption semiconductor products "equipped with modem functionality."

In theory, fabricating chips will help the companies reduce their reliance on components supplied by Qualcomm, which dominates the market for semiconductors used in smartphones.