Ready for 5g Network

TOKYO, JAPAN, March 2, 2015 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC., a personalized mobile solutions provider for smarter living, announced today that its joint 5G outdoor trial with Ericsson achieved a maximum data transmission speed of over 4.5Gbps using the high-frequency 15GHz spectrum band on February 17. This is the first phase of trials designed to pave the way for DOCOMO's deployment of a commercial 5G network by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in July 2020.

In a separate indoor 5G trial with Nokia Networks on December 18, 2014 to verify beamforming, a technique for more stable high-speed data transmission using exceptionally higher frequencies in the 70GHz band, DOCOMO achieved data transmissions of over 2Gbps.

DOCOMO also announced that it has agreed with its two newest partners, Huawei and Mitsubishi Electric, to conduct technical verifications of emerging 5G mobile communications technologies using various frequency bands, including lower than 6GHz and extremely high frequencies, called millimeter waves. In total, DOCOMO's 5G trials now encompass eight blue-chip mobile technology vendors, also including Alcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu, NEC and Samsung.

The trials with Ericsson and Nokia Networks verified technologies for super-high frequencies, which tend to travel shorter distances than lower-frequency signals, a major challenge for commercial 5G deployment.

Details of both high-frequency trials will be presented at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain from March 2 to 5.

Going forward, DOCOMO is aiming at an eventual 5G commercial service launch that will establish a highly advanced mobile communications environment for enjoyment of super-high-definition and multi-view sports images.

Details of 5G Experimental Trials with Eight Leading Mobile Technology Vendors

Partner Quotes

Ericsson

Ulf Ewaldsson, Senior Vice President and CTO of Ericsson, said: "As an industry leader in telecommunications systems, Ericsson is at the forefront of 5G system definition, research and standardization. One of our key success factors has been to foster industry collaboration at a very early stage, and work with select markets and key customers. Japan is one of the leading countries for high technology research, implementation and adoption, and DOCOMO is one of the leading service providers who have played an instrumental role in shaping previous technology generations. We are proud to be working with DOCOMO in Japan, as one of our lead 5G customers and markets, and are delighted at the demonstrated capabilities of next gen 5G technologies via our joint test bed programme. We look forward to many more milestones and in setting the industry pace and shaping the 5G direction together."

Nokia Networks

Hossein Moiin, EVP and Chief Technology Officer, Nokia Networks, said: "Nokia Networks and DOCOMO share a history of successful cooperation in leading the technology development for the global mobile ecosystem. Our shared history includes collaboration on 3G and LTE from an initial research phase to successful deployment. Now we are turning our attention to the next generation of mobile networks. Nokia made great progress with 5G indoor trial together with DOCOMO in 2014, and we are excited to continue this collaboration on 5G technologies, focusing on an outdoor trial this year. Currently we are aiming at exploring the potential of millimeter wave technology in the 70 GHz spectrum band."

Huawei

Mr. Ryan Ding, Executive Director of Board and President of Products and Solutions, Huawei, said: "5G will be the cornerstone for building a more connected world and transforming our lives and work for decades to come. Realizing a 5G market will require joint efforts spanning different industries and ecosystems, so I am pleased to collaborate with DOCOMO on creating 5G technologies from the early stage. I believe that by working with DOCOMO, we will be able to offer the many benefits of 5G technologies to our customers."

Mitsubishi Electric

Yasuyuki Nakanishi, Senior Vice President of Mitsubishi Electric, said: "We are honored to be part of the collaborative field trial with DOCOMO to realize 5G. Results from the field trial will pave the way for development of multi beam-forming technologies using massive antenna arrays to achieve ultra-high data rate transmission for 5G. Harnessing our collective strengths, we will make technical contributions through partnership with DOCOMO to achieve early establishment of 5G."