NTT DoCoMo: Success in mobile handset market requires key features

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- Electronic News, 5/23/2007

During a keynote presentation today at the In-Stat Microprocessor Forum, NTT DoCoMo Communications Laboratories USA Inc. senior VP Eisuke Miki said that key devices are what determine an operator’s success in the mobile communications market.

In the market for cellular services, the cell phone is the only device that customers can touch, therefore global operators must provide a worldwide strategic device that is attractive and cost effective, he noted.

Timely develop of low cost LSI devices will allow for cost reductions thanks to hyperfine process technology combined with technology for minimizing power consumption, Miki said, while collaboration between LSI development and core software development is a must.

Finally, a common platform deployment will work for effective handset development, he believes.

Looking beyond current technology to 4G technology, which promises a high speed data transfer rate of approximately 1-gigabit-per-second, is a number of years away from implementation, but NTT DoCoMo has been working on the technology in its research labs since October 2002, when it conducted its first packet transmission experiment, Miki noted.

Since then, the company has completed other field experiments, and in December 2006, demonstrated a 5-Gbps packet transmission.

Before we get to 4G, Super 3G is on the horizon, the basic aim of which is to satisfy user demand for higher data rates and quality of service, as well as provide a smooth transition to 4G, he explained.

Technology requirements for Super 3G include the creation of wireless access without previously-existing restrictions on transmission, not only with emphasis on data speed, size, and coverage, but also with importance placed on low delays, Miki said.

A key benefit of Super 3G is that it uses the existing 3G spectrum and aims to make significant improvements while allowing operators to maintain a long term competitive edge, he continued.

In terms of standardization for Super 3G, Miki said a large number of companies are strongly supporting the technology but it has taken a great deal of time to agree on the technology. However in June 2006, the basic system concept and performance evaluations were virtually completed.

Also last June, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) agreed to transition to the work item phase, with details on specifications due in September, he added.