DoCoMo Is Trialing 4G
DoCoMo is pushing the envelope by going to field trial with 4G technologies in the city of Yokosuka. This is truly forward looking and impressive (Mike already caught this) . However, this writer says, “Just as (DoCoMo) blazed the third-generation trail…” Blazed the trail? Why this persistent MISconception that DoCoMo blazed the 3G trail? Don’t believe mistaken press buzz.
SK Telecom of Korea launched the worlds first 1xRTT in October 2000! That’s a full year ahead of DoCoMo’s W-CDMA launch, and 18 months ahead of KDDI’s launch of 1x. The second and third global launches of 3G were actually KTF and LGT, both of Korea. That’s the #1, #2, and #3 spots on the podium for Korea, and yet DoCoMo gets the recognition.
As for penetration, SK Telecom currently has 17M subscribers, and over 10M of them are now using 1xRTT. That’s over 58% of subscribers. Japan’s 3G penetration? 6.3%. So who’s blazing the trail?
Filed Under: 3g
