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KDDI will be among Japan’s first to launch 5G, when its networks go live in March 2020
KDDI has selected Ericsson to be its official launch partner and primary vendor for its forthcoming 5G launch in Japan.
The pair will work together to deploy 5G mobile services across Japan, with an initial launch date of March 2020.
“Having established our important partnership with KDDI in 2013, we have now expanded our collaboration efforts. We are excited about our involvement in KDDI’s 5G network buildout, which will provide a sound basis for our future collaboration as well as allowing our partner to offer users a whole new generation of mobile services,” said Chris Houghton, senior vice president, Head of Market Area North East Asia at Ericsson.
KDDI will launch its 5G offering using a combination of spectrum in the sub-6GHz and 28GHz bands. Japan’s big four telcos were allocated spectrum last year and are all aiming to launch 5G services in the first quarter of 2020.
KDDI has stated that it hopes to provide 5G coverage to 93.2 per cent of the Japanese population by the end of March 2025.
KDDI and Ericsson have been collaborating on a number of 5G test initiatives, focussing on applications for spectrum in the 4.5GHz and 28GHz bands. The pair have been working together on 5G research and development since they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2015.
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