Japan’s leading mobile operator by subscriptions, NTT DOCOMO, is looking to ramp up the pace of its 5G network rollout to keep pace with its main rivals KDDI (au) and SoftBank Corp which recently revealed faster deployments of their own fifth-generation systems. DOCOMO now aims to reach 90% of the Japanese population with its 5G network by March 2024, up from the previously stated figure of 80%. The news comes as KDDI said it will likely hit the 90% coverage threshold in the early part of its next financial year (starting 1 April 2022), while SoftBank Corp hopes to hit the same milestone before the summer.