TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo. the leading mobile carrier in Japan, plans to launch a wireless local area network (WLAN) service in April. According to the firm, DoCoMo will develop a datacard-type mobile terminal with functions of FOMA, NTT DoCoMo’s third-generation (3G) service, and WLAN.
NTT Communications, a long-distance and international business unit of NTT Group, is planning to launch WLAN service in the 2.4 GHz band in the Tokyo metropolitan area in April. NTT East and NTT West, regional carriers of NTT Group, are also planning to launch WLAN service in the 5 GHz band in April at the earliest.
NTT DoCoMo will construct base stations for WLAN at several locations in Tokyo and will provide services integrating its FOMA and WLAN offerings.
NTT DoCoMo launched its FOMA service last October. As of the end of February, there were 55,700 FOMA users.
