Samsung, Japan's UQ Communications to Build WiBro Network in Japan
March 07, 2008
On March 3, Samsung announced that the company and Japan's UQ Communications - a Japanese telecom consortium consisting of Intel, KDDI, Kyocera, Daiwa Securities, East Japan Railway, and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ - will jointly establish a wireless network in Japan, leveraging Korea's self-developed WiBro (Wireless Broadband) technology, the Korea Herald reported.
UQ Communications, which was established in September 2007 and known as Wireless Broadband Planning prior to March 1, 2008, acquired WiBro business rights from Samsung in December 2007. According to Chosun Ilbo, UQ Communications plans to complete construction by year-end 2008, conduct trials in Tokyo and Yokohama in February 2009, and kick off commercialization around summer 2010.
Aside from the Samsung-UQ Communications cooperation, Samsung and US-based Sprint Nextel also signed a cooperation agreement in 2007 to set up a WiBro network in New York. The network is slated for commercialization in the first half of 2008.