The telecom ministry allocated mobile phone frequency bands for superfast 5G services to three major mobile carriers and the e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. on Wednesday, ahead of an expected full-scale launch in 2020.
After reviewing operational plans by NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp., SoftBank Corp. and Rakuten, an advisory council to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications approved the allocation of 5G frequencies. The ministry issued certificates later in the day.
After conducting trials later this year, the mobile phone carriers plan to start a commercial rollout from 2020, with the 5G technology enabling users to send and receive data some 100 times faster than the current 4G networks allow.