Attention is focused on whether Japanese companies can recover from the oligopoly of overseas manufacturers in the mobile phone base station business.
A major mobile phone company is working to develop a new system that enables low-cost base stations by combining equipment from different manufacturers, and is trying to expand its business overseas.
Base stations, which are indispensable for the use of mobile phones, are owned by three foreign manufacturers, including Ericsson, a major Swedish telecommunications equipment company, with about 75% of the global market share. However, the problem is that it is difficult to reduce costs.
For this reason, NTT Docomo is developing a system called "open RAN" that creates a network of base stations by combining equipment from different manufacturers at a research facility in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. We carry out verification work using equipment and software.
Competition between manufacturers is expected to reduce costs, and Japanese companies can also enter the base station business, which is becoming an oligopoly among overseas manufacturers.
NTT DoCoMo's manager, Haruki Mori, said, "We would like to use our know-how to expand globally while involving many manufacturers."
In open RAN, the Rakuten Group, which handles the mobile phone business, is also aiming to expand overseas, and attention will be paid to whether Japanese companies can make a comeback in the base station business.