Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Nokia and DoCoMo enter partnership to supply Tokyo with 5G networks by 2020

By

Police surveillance of U.S. citizens' cell phone data has skyrocketed
5G networks may be closer than we think. Nokia has announced that it has entered a partnership with Japanese telecom company  NTT DoCoMo to supply 5G the telecom company with wireless radio stations.

The contract is the first of its kind for Nokia’s new 5G equipment, which is based on New Radio standards. The specifications for NR were only finalized in December of last year.

Recommended Videos

The current terms of the deal suggest that DoCoMo will have 5G service available in Tokyo in time for the 2020 Olympics. Once 5G has been established in the greater Tokyo region, the telecom company plans to roll it out to the rest of the country. However, this process is expected to take several years.

Related

Regardless of those initial limitations, Nokia has said that it believes this deal is a “major milestone” in the development of 5G technology.

“Together we have worked hard in recent months to commence preparations for NTT DOCOMO’s eventual launch of its operational 5G service by 2020, which we have now set in motion by this very exciting announcement today,” said Nokia’s Marc Rouanne.

Nokia and DoCoMo have been collaborating for some time now. The Finland-based tech company was one of the DoCoMo’s major suppliers during the 3G and 4G eras. Since 2014, the two companies have been working together on the development of 5G technology. The new data networks are expected to provide a number of benefits to consumers such as faster speeds and better data capacity.

In addition to the aforementioned benefits, DoCoMo is expecting to use its 5G networks to provide better services for self-driving cars, smart homes, and the business sector.

The financial side of the deal has not been disclosed by either Nokia or DoCoMo, so we don’t know how much each company is paying for this partnership.

In addition to DoCoMo, numerous American telecom providers have also seriously started work on the development of 5G networks. The future of wireless data is closer now than ever, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered. Luckily, we’ve got those covered in our guide to 5G, so check it out if you need more information.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Eric Brackett
Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
What is 5G? Speeds, coverage, comparisons, and more
The 5G UW icon on the Samsung Galaxy S23.

It's been years in the making, but 5G — the next big chapter in wireless technology — is finally approaching the mainstream. While we haven't yet reached the point where it's available everywhere, nearly all of the best smartphones are 5G-capable these days, and you're far more likely to see a 5G icon lit up on your phone than not.

There's more to 5G than just a fancy new number, though. The technology has been considerably more complicated for carriers to roll out since it covers a much wider range of frequencies than older 4G/LTE technology, with different trade-offs for each. It's also a much farther-reaching wireless technology, promising the kind of global connectivity that was once merely a dream found in futuristic sci-fi novels.

Read more
What is 5G UC? Here’s what that icon on your phone really means
5G logo on the Motorola Edge (2022).

If you own a 5G-capable smartphone — which are all of the best phones today — there’s a good chance you’ve seen different 5G network icons showing up in your status bar. It’s a stark contrast to the pre-5G days when your phone showed “4G” or “LTE” no matter where you went.

It can get a bit confusing to see a 5G indicator one moment and then “5G UC” or “5G UW” the next. It’s not something you need to worry too much about, as you don’t usually have much control over it, but it’s still helpful to understand what these different symbols mean — and why they matter.
The humble beginnings of 5G

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 ushers in the next era of 5G connectivity
Qualcomm Snapdragon X75.

Qualcomm has just announced the Snapdragon X75, the company's sixth-generation 5G modem that promises to push smartphones and other connected devices into the next phase of 5G technology.

The Snapdragon X75 is the successor to last year's X70, which is the modem found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that powers this year's most powerful 5G smartphones — including Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11. However, it's more than just an evolution of that earlier modem system, as Qualcomm has packed in support for next-generation 5G Advanced technology along with an entirely new architecture and powerful AI features that will allow mobile devices to access better coverage and achieve even faster speeds.
5G grows up big-time

Read more