Japan's NTT Docomo will launch its next-generation 4G mobile phone network in 2010 even if rivals around the world wait, its president has told the Financial Times.
Ryuji Yamada's resolve means Docomo will be one of the world's first companies to deploy on a large scale the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard, which will boost download speeds for mobiles and open the way for Japanese phones to become compatible with the rest of the world for the first time.
Mr Yamada, head of Japan's largest mobile phone company, said that, because of an agreement last December on the LTE standard, Docomo was confident its technology would be compatible.