Andre Yoskowitz
14 Nov 2010 17:41
NTT DoCoMo has announced this week the launch of Xi, the first LTE (Long Term Evolution) data service in Japan.
The carrier will begin the rollout on December 24th.
Xi should offer download speeds as high as 75 Mbps, ten times faster than the carrier's current FOMA 3G.
While it will not immediately be available for smartphone owners, the company will start selling USB dongles in December that will allow computers to connect to the lightning fast data service.
Phones with Xi support will start shipping in April, 2011.
Initial cities to have the service are Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
DoCoMo will offer two billing plans, each with contract. The first is for up to 5GB per cycle, but pricing is unavailable. The unlimited plan will cost 4935 yen, or about $60 USD.