AT&T and NTT DoCoMo (or as it is commonly referred to, simply DoCoMo) have entered into an agreement where the
largest provider and pioneer of 3G W-CDMA services in Japan will invest
up to $24 million in technical and financial support into its network
in the state of Hawaii on the island of Oahu to launch a 3G network at
the end of 2007, with completion of the network expected around the
entire state in 2008.
Under this agreement, this network will be built to serve both
AT&T and DoCoMo customers by offering a seamless roaming
experience and access to all home market services for their customers
on the island, while AT&T customers living or
traveling to Hawaii will finally be able to use 3G services such as
streaming video, music, and high speed internet access. DoCoMo is also
planning further promotion of international roaming taking into account
the growth of 3G W-CDMA services in the US.
This is not the first time the Japanese wireless pioneer has worked
with AT&T. DoCoMo was a major investor in the former
AT&T Wireless, which led them to launch 3G W-CDMA services in
California and Texas starting in 2003 until financial trouble plagued
the company, which led to its purchase by Cingular.
The Legacy AT&T Wireless W-CDMA network was later integrated into Cingular’s UMTS launch, two years later. Due to this purchase, DoCoMo was
forced to write off $10 billion dollars in investment funds for
AT&T Wireless and rethink its foreign investment strategy,
although the company was able to recover the funds after the purchase
by Cingular.
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