According to pcworld.com, NTT DoCoMo has said it will switch off it’s 2G network in 2012.
DoCoMo was the first to launch 3G services in 2001, and released the last 2G phone in 2004 – so you can can almost visualise the curves in the finance graph that helped them decide! Another very persuasive stat must have been that by Dec ’08, 88% of the 54mn subs were on the 3G network.
Interestingly, their 3G network is WCDMA-based (almost, but not quite, the world standard for 3G) – but their 2G network was a homebrew PDC ‘standard’, that NTT developed – however this never gained any traction other than in the domestic market.
Imagining that finance graph that shows 2G dropping away, and 3G maturing, you’ve got to wonder if there is a third line on there – for their 4G and/or 5G services of course!
[Via: pcworld.com]