TOKYO-Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is reported to be considering an entrance into the U.K. market through a tie-up with Canada’s Telesystem International Wireless Inc. and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. TIW and Hutchison partnered shortly after TIW won a third-generation license in the U.K. auction in May.
DoCoMo already holds a 19-percent stake in Hutchison’s telecom arm, Hutchison Telecom. TIW and Hutchison paid $6.4 billion for the U.K. license, and a further partnership could help them shoulder the hefty cost.
DoCoMo is looking to expand outside Japan. Earlier this year, the carrier took a 15-percent stake in KPN Mobile in the Netherlands. It is rumored to be considering taking stakes in U.S. carrier Voice-Stream Wireless and Korea’s SK Telecom.
