Document Actions UQ Communications announces launch of mobile WiMAX network in Japan

UQ Communications announces plans to rollout a mobile WiMAX trial network this month to 3 Japanese cities. Subscribers will be able to access network free of charge during promotion period.

UQ Communications announced Tuesday plans to rollout a mobile WiMAX trial network to 3 Japanese cities. UQ Communications is a joint venture established by KDDI CORPORATION, Intel Capital Corporation, East Japan Railway Company, KYOCERA Corporation, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. The mobile WiMAX network will use 30 MHZ of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. UQ's WiMax service will be available to users in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki for free starting on February 26, according to a notice posted on its Web site."We will start a test service, which covers the 23 wards of Tokyo, in February 2009," said Takashi Tanaka, president of UQ Communications. "We will also start our service in Nagoya as well as the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area in the early summer of 2009." The initial service will "use data cards," Tanaka said. "Then notebook PCs incorporating mobile WiMAX network capability are expected to emerge in the summer of 2009. MID (mobile internet devices) will become available after that." The free trials are scheduled to end June 30, 2009. UQ is promising to post WiMAX coverage updates on its web site.UQ's announcement sets the stage for a battle between mobile data services in Japan. Dominated by large cellular providers (e.g. NTT DoComo) for many years, the Japanese mobile data market has seen more and more competition in recent years, especially from operators targeting PC users. UQ plans to set up base stations much faster than cellular (3G+/4G) base stations can be constructed. Fujitsu has been selected as one of the companies supplying base stations.Beceem’s mobile WiMAX (802.16e) chips are enabling the USB dongles and PC cards developed by NEC Access Technica. "Beceem has worked very closely with NEC Access Technica, one of our key device partners for the WiMAX service launch," said Shuichi Kako, Senior Associate VP and GM, Sales Division of UQ Communications. "We have always been able to rely on NEC Access Technica and Beceem during the network deployment and device qualification, and the performance of their devices has reliably met, and in many cases exceeded, our demanding requirements."

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