TOKYO-At the International 3G Mobile Systems Japan ’99 conference in early September in Tokyo, Japanese carriers and vendors disclosed their strategies for third-generation (3G) technology.
Masayoshi Wakao, managing director of the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), a standardization organization in Japan, gave a keynote address in which he explained the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications’ (MPT’s) plan to for launching 3G cellular services in Japan.
The MPT announced in 1998 it would grant licenses for 3G services to three carriers or three carrier groups. Each licensee will be given 20 megahertz for ascendant and descendant lines.
The Telecommunications Council, an advisory body to the MPT, was scheduled to release the basic policy for 3G business in September, and based on the policy, MPT will work out the business plan. In the upcoming regular Diet session to be summoned in January 2000, MPT will submit a bill to revise the present laws and will grant licenses in second-quarter 2000. Carriers granted a license will be able to launch final field tests in second-quarter 2001 at the earliest.
It is widely believed the NTT DoCoMo Group, JT Group, and IDO and DDI Group will receive the limited three licenses from MPT.
Following 3G presentations by these three companies on the first day of the conference, Yutaka Yasuda, director and general manager of the IMT-2000 Business Development Office of KDD Corp., explained KDD’s effort for 3G business. Yasuda said although the firm does not have any particular tactics for launching 3G business, the firm is willingly entering the market.
On the second day of the conference, Fujitsu and NEC presented their 3G strategies. Both companies won orders for infrastructure and terminals from NTT DoCoMo in April, and they are now gearing up efforts to develop prototypes for commercial equipment, targeting January 2000. They are scheduled to have commercial units available by third-quarter 2001.
Sadao Takenaka, director of Fujitsu’s Network Systems Department, said his firm is promoting a system using new technologies such as interference cancellation and adaptive array antennas. Interference cancellation, according to Tanaka, can increase channel capacity and improve multi-use performance. The company’s adaptive array antenna, he said, will provide high-quality multimedia data transmission and reduce terminal transmission power.
Yoshitake Matsuo, general manager of NEC’s Mobile Communications Systems Division, said NEC currently is targeting Japan for its second-generation business, but will market its 3G systems worldwide.
To expand worldwide, the vendor is currently involved in field tests with three carrier groups in Japan-DoCoMo Group, JT Group, and DDI and IDO Group-three projects in Europe in cooperation with British Telecom and four projects in Asia.
