Hot developments in Japan: the rollout of 3G services has not shined brightly for NTT DoCoMo, but the carrier could heat up the market by incorporating WLAN technology with FOMA. (WLAN).(Freedom of Multimedia Access)

Wireless Week, June, 2002 by Thuresson, Michael

TOKYO -- Will wireless hot spots shine in Japan? The past six months have brought a wave of activity, with recent public launches and announcements stealing thunder from some 3G offerings.

Over the past year, hot spot experiments involving wireless local area networks in public gathering places have received only moderate attention because a proven business plan remains elusive to many. But that hasn't stopped operators from conducting trials, some of which use technologies that are slightly different from the IEEE 802.11 standard so prevalent in the United States.

Japan's NTT East conducted an extensive public hot spot experiment, called Biportable, in Tokyo's busy Shibuya district last spring, featuring extensive multimedia content and NTT...

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