It becomes possible to use “Softbank Wi-Fi spot” of the service of public wireless LAN of mobile Softbank with the Starbucks coffee on June 1. The correspondence store schedules to expand to 500 stores by the end of August in 2010. Starbucks coffee Japan begin the offer of “Softbank Wi-Fi spot” of the service of public wireless LAN of mobile Softbank in the Starbucks coffee store in the whole country on June 1.
Boingo Wireless is adding more than 1,600 additional locations in Japan through a roaming partnership with NTT Communications. This brings Boingo’s total footprint to well over 6,500 hotspots in Japan. Boingo customers can get online at NTT Communications Wi-Fi locations immediately; select Boingo Platform Service Partners that wholesale Boingo’s global WiFi access products, and their customers, will gain access in the future.
Network equipment maker Sandvine Corp (SVC.TO) received a contract from Japan’s NTT Communications Corp to deploy its Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) on NTT’s high speed network in Japan, sending Sandvine’s shares up as much as 13 percent. The PTS platform provides broadband and wireless network operators with services like capacity planning and quota management.
NEC Corporation today announced its selection by Vietnam Telecom Service Company (VNP) to deploy approximately 1,000 units of the “PASOLINK NEO” ultra compact microwave communications system. VNP is the third positioned mobile telephone operator in Vietnam and has approximately 21 million subscribers. VNP started its 3G services in October 2009 and the systems selected today will be used for communications between mobile based stations and base stations for its 3G services.
Qualcomm announced that it is sampling the industry’s first chipsets for dual-carrier HSPA+ and multi-mode 3G/LTE. According to the PR, these chipsets demonstrate significant progress toward enabling the mass-market commercial deployment of two next-generation network technologies that bring more advanced data capabilities to mobile devices for new global markets.
NTT Com announced today that it will begin taking applications for a new wireless service targeted at enterprise uses which combines mobile access the DoCoMo 3G HSDPA network and Wi-Fi connectivity via their HOTSPOT WLAN platform. The service will offer speeds up to 7.2 Mbps and wide national coverage via DoCoMo combined with VPN access and global roaming into partners service areas in over 150 countries worldwide. The service is slated to launch in September.
According to multiple sources the Communications Ministry has approved business plans for 3.9G services submitted by four Japanese telecom operators; DoCoMo, KDDI, SoftBank Mobile and eMobile, with service roll-outs beginning in September 2010 through late 2012. The combined investments to build base stations, service equipment and related facilities for these new networks are forecast to top 1 Trillion JPY, or approx. $10 Billion, by 2014.
NTT Communications just announced the launch of their new “HOTSPOT connect” service offering free connectivity to specific Internet services via their HOTSPOT WLAN network in Japan. The first offering – dubbed “HOTSPOT connect x Eye-Fi” – will allow users to upload photos and videos from cameras, camcorders and other portable devices that are equipped with an Eye-Fi SD memory card which has built-in Wi-Fi capability. The HOTSPOT connect platform is openly available to anyone, including non-subscribers to HOTSPOT, normally a paid service.
According to the Nikkei, via Bloomberg, all four major Japanese telcos are moving one step closer to building out their 4G networks, with infrastructure investments pegged at $10 billion. DoCoMo alone is said to have budgeted nearly half of that amount, to enable data delivery at near fiber speeds, with service launch expected in fiscal 2010 with the others set to follow by 2012.
According to this report filed from the recent WiMAX Forum Congress Asia event in Singapore, Takeshi Tanaka – president of UQ Communications – is quoted; “People are beginning to think that cellular internet is fake.. the browser is limited, the content and performance are limited, and so are the screen sizes. This is our opportunity to differentiate from the 3G style”. So, the gloves are off!
