Softbank, eAccess and IP Mobile are Japan’s newest cellphone companies, after receiving operational licenses from the Japanese government on Wednesday. They are the first licenses to be issued in 12 years.

As early as 2006, the 3 newest entrants into Japan’s already crowded cellphone market will face fierce competition from the country’s established carriers, including NTT DoCoMo Inc and KDDI Corp.

The decision came Wednesday after a report was delivered from a regulatory body to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.