JTower said it will begin interoperability testing with Japan’s four mobile carriers in fiscal year 2025
In sum – what to know:
Japan’s first Open RAN 5G radio – JTower’s new shared unit supports Sub6 bands across four operators, using O-RAN for flexible vendor interoperability.
Real shared infrastructure – Unlike previous systems that only shared antennas, the new unit enables sharing of radio equipment, reducing space, power and deployment costs.
Supports 5G scale-out – As mobile data grows due to AI, video and cloud apps, JTower’s open platform allows faster 5G deployment.
Japanese tower company JTower has announced the development of what it claims to be Japan’s first Open RAN-compatible shared 5G radio equipment for the Sub6 band.
In a release, the Japanese company noted that this development enables mobile carriers to jointly use not just antennas and repeaters, but also radio equipment itself.
The company also said it will begin interoperability testing with Japan’s four mobile carriers in fiscal year 2025, with commercial availability depending on individual carrier readiness.
The newly developed equipment leverages Open RAN standards, allowing a flexible, multi-vendor environment. It added that this new gear significantly lowers installation footprint, reduces construction and equipment costs and lower power consumption.
“This marks a major step forward for 5G infrastructure in Japan,” said JTower, adding that the shared radio units are compliant with the Sub6 bands used by all four national operators.
The need for high-capacity networks continues to grow as mobile traffic surges due to widespread use of video, social media, web conferencing and now generative AI, the firm said, adding that it aims to support this demand by enabling more efficient and sustainable network deployment.
The company also highlighted that it designs and builds shared systems internally to meet the stringent quality and operational standards of Japan’s mobile operators. This includes joint reviews, testing and certification processes to ensure seamless network integration.
Looking ahead, JTower said it plans to continue its investment in shared infrastructure innovation — including potential fronthaul sharing — to support Japan’s growing digital ecosystem and the nationwide rollout of 5G networks.
In August 2024, U.S. investment firm DigitalBridge Group offered a 152% premium for JTower in a deal that valued the Asian telecom infrastructure company at around ($630 million.
In Japan’s telecom industry, carriers are facing growing pressure to expand coverage not only for rural and disaster-prone areas, but also for the sky, sea and even outer space, all while grappling with a shrinking population and limited human resources. JTower said maintaining and operating communication infrastructure reliably under these conditions has become a major challenge.
“In this context, there is a growing need to improve the efficiency of indoor and outdoor network development and the maintenance and operation of communication infrastructure through infrastructure sharing,” said the company.
JTower also said that its capital investment and system reinforcement in the indoor infrastructure sharing business and tower business, as well as initiatives to upgrade the sharing area, will require responding flexibly to future additional funding needs and making up-front investments from a long-term perspective.
However, the company noted that there is a possibility of restrictions on raising funds in the stock market due to share-price conditions, and the market has a strong tendency to prioritize short-term profitability, which makes it difficult to make up-front investments for future growth.
The company, though, said it has received commitments from DigitalBridge to provide additional equity after JTower goes private via the ongoing tender offer. This move is expected to enable more agile and stable growth funding and allow the company to invest with a long-term view.
