NTT DoCoMo to launch ultrafast mobile service in 2010

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TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo plans to launch a high-speed, low-cost data communications service in 2010 that is capable of showing high-quality video, a news report said.
The Super 3G (third generation) service will only require upgrades to the existing network, keeping down necessary investment to between 100 billion and 200 billion yen (8.4 million to 16.8 million dollars), the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.
With a speed of roughly 100 megabits per second, Super 3G will be some 260 times as fast as the existing 3G service of DoCoMo, which tops out at 384 kilobits per second, the business daily said without citing sources.
The planned service will let viewers watch programming in smooth high-resolution video, the Nihon Keizai said.
It will also be possible to quickly send and receive large files like those used in personal computers, it said.
The firm is set to begin field tests this year, the newspaper said.