NTT Docomo has announced plans to launch an open partner program this month to enable local business and government organizations to explore and develop new use cases for 5G.
Speaking at an earnings briefing in Tokyo last week, Toshiki Nakayama, senior executive vice president, said the 5G Open Partner Program is designed to provide a platform for its business and organization partners interested in 5G to experience the technology from early on.
The program will serve as a platform for information exchange and strengthen cooperation between Docomo and its partners on “cultivating” new use cases for 5G.
As of January 25, Nakayama said, there were already 523 companies and organizations have expressed their intention to take part in this program.
Docomo will start offering the program to its partners from February 21, providing workshops and latest 5G information, with provision of 5G use environment being available from April onwards.
Nakayama said Docomo has also carried out various 5G trial events over the past few months, testing potential use cases such as projection mapping and smart stadium, AR/VR of sports and game viewing.
Last month Docomo, which is targeting commercial deployment of 5G for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, also contracted Nokia to supply 5G baseband products to support the operator's goal of commercially deploying a 5G network by 2020.