Japanese operators explore mmWave 5G expansion

Japan Mobile Network Performance H1 2026: SoftBank Leads 5G Speed, DoCoMo Tops Availability

Japan mobile network performance in H1 2026 showed intense competition among SoftBank, NTT DoCoMo, au and Rakuten Mobile, with no single operator dominating every network metric. SoftBank emerged as the strongest operator for overall connectivity and 5G speed, NTT DoCoMo delivered the widest 5G availability, while Rakuten Mobile led overall network consistency. The findings from […]

Japan’s four major carriers explore joint expansion of 5G millimeter-wave coverage

Japan’s four major mobile carriers have begun exploring joint expansion of coverage areas for the “millimeter-wave” frequency band, which enables high-speed, high-capacity 5G communications. KDDI (9433.T), NTT Docomo (9437.T), SoftBank Corp (9434.T), and Rakuten Mobile announced on September 16 that they signed a memorandum of understanding dated September 11 aimed at effective utilization of base […]

Japanese operators explore mmWave 5G expansion

Japanese operators hope to make inroads to improving the reach of mmWave 5G and signed a memorandum of understanding covering joint exploration of ways to do so. SoftBank Corp, KDDI, NTT Docomo and Rakuten Mobile agreed to jointly explore how the coverage afforded by mmWave 5G at 28GHz could be expanded within the limitations of the band, which offers solid connectivity over short distances. The operators each issued a statement explaining the f…