NTT DoCoMo and AT&T Wireless to Showcase 3G Service in U.S.

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly showcase third-generation (3G) mobile communications service in the United States.

The service will be based on DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G mobile communications service, which DoCoMo is already operating in Japan.

Under the agreement, DoCoMo and AT&T Wireless will open a 3G demonstration room with a FOMA base station in an AT&T Wireless office in New York this fall. Visitors will be able to experience, with actual handsets, FOMA’s many unique features which may include videophone, “i-mode” mobile internet, “i-motion” sound and video-clip distribution service, “Multiaccess” simultaneous voice/data communications, as well as quality voice and high-speed data transmission.

“NTT DoCoMo is very pleased to demonstrate our 3G services in the U.S.,” said Keiji Tachikawa, President and CEO of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. “Thanks to our close relationship with AT&T Wireless, we will be able to provide the American public with a glimpse into the future of advanced wireless services.”

“We’re glad to showcase the types of services and devices that will be available when advanced 3G service reaches the United States,” said John D. Zeglis, Chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless.

The demonstration room will be open to visitors such as journalists, analysts, telecom operators, and vendors for one year. By providing opinion leaders with demonstrations of the new FOMA, the two companies hope to generate strong interest in 3G service as a prelude to a successful launch in the U.S market.