DOCOMO ranked world's top mobile operator in 5G SEP applications

NTT DOCOMO has been ranked the world's leading mobile operator in terms of applications for candidate standard-essential patents (SEPs) for the new fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication standard, and also number one in terms of 5G technical proposals (contributions).

The rankings are based on a study conducted by Cyber Creative Institute who research information and communication technology regarding intellectual property rights.

The results of the study, "Application trend of ETSI standard-essential patent (5G-SEP) candidates contributing to the realisation of 5G and proposal trend of contributions for standards," were announced on February 6.

DOCOMO also was ranked sixth in 5G SEP applications among all companies in all fields.

DOCOMO has applied for some 1,400 candidate 5G SEPs and submitted some 3,700 5G-related contributions to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a collaborative initiative undertaken by telecommunications standards associations.

SEP applications and contributions are seen as a barometer of a company's involvement with and the 3GPP and support for standardisation.

DOCOMO is playing a pivotal role in hastening the completion of 5G specifications and standardisation, similar to its past work in helping to establish the 3G and 4G mobile systems.

DOCOMO is actively contributing to 5G standardisation as it prepares to offer mobile services capable of unprecedented speed, capacity and reliability when it launches its 5G mobile communication service in 2020.

DOCOMO has contributed diverse technical proposals to the 3GPP for 5G infrastructure systems, including to issue early warnings of imminent natural disasters and to ensure communications in the immediate aftermath of disasters.

The Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) is used extensively for services that provide citizens with disaster and evacuation-related emergency information, such as DOCOMO's Area Mail service and the emergency messaging services of counterpart mobile operators in Japan.

Similar systems have also been introduced in the United States, South Korea and Europe.

NTT DOCOMO is one of Japan's leading mobile operators, with over 77 million subscriptions, its one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies.