Japanese mobile carrier KDDI and Rakuten unit Rakuten Mobile submitted plans to the communication ministry pledging to install enough 4G/LTE base stations to eliminate dead zones by the fiscal year ending March 2024, according to local online publication asia.nikkei.com. Both joined a government initiative to ensure reliable network coverage nationwide within the next five years even in remote, depopulated areas. According to submitted plans, full-fledged installation projects will start no earlier than fiscal 2021.
The communications ministry wants to provide more financial incentives to support the extension of services to underserved populations where 16,000 people live as it will request more funding to that end in the fiscal 2020 national budget. The expenditures will be covered by bandwidth fees paid by broadcasters and mobile carriers.
The government will offer large subsidies if multiple carriers work together to install base stations in remote areas. KDDI and Rakuten Mobile will be joined by the other major players NTT Docomo and SoftBank, according to the government. The four operators plan to install a total of 70,000 base stations by fiscal 2024, with 5G expected to launch in 2020 in the country. Subsidies to cover underserved locations will become available in fiscal 2020. The communications ministry aims to further increase the number of base stations to 84,000.
Source: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/kddi-rakuten-to-help-eliminate-mobile-dead-zones-by-2024--1290596