NTT DOCOMO is planning to launch a nationwide 5G service in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Japanese wireless carrier said earlier this year. The Chiyoda, Tokyo-based telecom giant believes its roadmap will allow it to become the world’s first operator to offer a truly mobile 5G service at a large scale, providing its customers with their first experience with what is widely believed to be revolutionary connectivity. While many wireless carriers around the world are presently committing billions of dollars to 5G research and development, NTT DOCOMO is already in the process of marketing its future offerings to a degree, having previously established a 5G promotion office helmed by one Nakamura Takehiro.
NTT DOCOMO is presently conducting various 5G trials and the specifics of its planned 5G network remain unclear, though the company already opted for its main equipment partner, having signed a supply agreement with Nokia last month. The next-generation network set to be launched by the mobile service provider is expected to be based on the Release 15 standard finalized by the 3GPP late last year as the world’s first implementable 5G configuration. Nokia will already start supplying the Japanese company with network equipment in the coming months, allowing for more large-scale trials to take place over the course of this year. While the majority of the industry is touting 5G as having unprecedented potential in terms of creating new revenue streams in the enterprise segment, NTT DOCOMO’s efforts to promote the upcoming technology are largely aimed at consumer use, promising high-definition streams and virtual reality as the 5G-enabled future of entertainment.
Many experts are predicting that the next generation of mobile networks will lead to a fifth industrial revolution by enabling a wide variety of emerging technologies such as self-driving vehicles, remote surgery, and extremely advanced Internet of Things applications. Some companies are going as far as to promise on-demand cities as the ultimate form of fully connected environments, whereas wireless carriers are primarily looking to use 5G to diversify their operations and become more than just service providers to the enterprise segment with whom they’re eventually hoping to partner.