Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo reportedly plans to invest JPY300-400 billion (US$3.06-4.07 billion) over the next five years on LTE technology, deploying 20,000 base stations covering 50 percent of the population by 2014. Japan’s The Nikkei quoted company president Ryuji Yamada’s targets during his keynote speech at the Global ICT Summit 2009 yesterday. Interestingly, Yamada said DoCoMo’s LTE network will offer data-only devices at launch next year, but will support voice services compatible with current 3G networks from 2011. The provision of voice services over future LTE networks is a topical issue, as questions remain over the best way to provide voice capability via the all-IP next-generation technology.

DoCoMo’s launch of LTE next year – following its expected allocation of an LTE license later this summer – will make it one of the world’s first commercial adopters of the technology. Japan will join Sweden (TeliaSonera, as well as a joint venture involving Tele2 Sweden and Telenor), Norway (Telenor and TeliaSonera) and the US (Verizon Wireless) as markets that will be early adopters of LTE technology. Industry reports have already suggested that around 30 operators worldwide have so far committed to LTE.