DoCoMo, KTF form WCDMA committee

Second placed Korean operator KTF and leading Japanese mobile provider NTT DoCoMo launched a joint committee today, with the intention of accelerating their cooperative developments in the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) space.

The Business & Technology Cooperation Committee will consist of six members – three from each company – and will serve as a channel for the operators to develop businesses ideas targeted at the WCDMA market, including international roaming prospects and joint development and procurement of handsets.

In December DoCoMo confirmed a comprehensive strategic alliance with KTF, including equity participation, under which DoCoMo invested approximately Won564.9bn (ВЈ320m) to acquire a 10 per cent stake in KTF.

KTF made an attractive proposition for DoCoMo, as the Korean operator operates a pilot WCDMA network as well as its CDMA networks. DoCoMo said that the nationwide deployment and early stabilization of KTF’s WCDMA network, using DoCoMo’s technical support, is key to achieving the objectives of the alliance.

Following tough conditions and high competition levels in the Japanese market, it seems DoCoMo has growth through international expansion very much on its agenda. The KTF deal marks DoCoMo’s largest overseas investment for some years now.

Tags: 3G, Japan, KTF, NTT DoCoMo, South Korea, WCDMA

This entry was posted on March 31st, 2006 and is filed under Operators. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.