Press Releases

TOKYO, JAPAN, December 17, 2008 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has successfully developed a trial large-scale-integration (LSI) chip that consumes less than 0.04 W of power yet supports multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)* signal detection and decoding for downlink transmissions at 100 Mbps, the speed required for the forthcoming mobile system known as Super 3G**, or Long Term Evolution (LTE), approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Compared with chips currently used in handsets compatible with DOCOMO's High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) service, which have a maximum downlink rate of 7.2 Mbps, the new chip will enable downlinks that are more than 10 times as fast.

In September 2007, DOCOMO developed a trial LSI chip that demodulates orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)*** signals and detects MIMO signals transmitted from four antennas at a rate of 200 Mbps, and also consumes no more than 0.1 W of power.

The chip being announced this time demodulates OFDM signals transmitted in the 20MHz bandwidth from two antennas and detects MIMO signals based on Maximum Likelihood Detection (MLD)**** technology, which ensures relatively high-quality communication even in bad environments for signal reception. The chip also includes error correction decoding, which requires almost the same level of complexity as MIMO signal detection.

In the new chip, which is made with 65-nanometer processing, the circuits have been further optimized, particularly by eliminating redundant circuits for computationally complex processes such as MIMO-signal detection and error-correction decoding.

DOCOMO will incorporate its new LSI chip technology in ongoing research and development of LTE and International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) systems, as well as in its active support of the establishment of related international standards.

*A technology for increasing data-transmission speeds through the use of multiple antennas.

**Sometimes also called 3.9G. Super 3G, which is proposed by DOCOMO, refers to the LTE mobile system approved by 3GPP.

***Converts high-speed data signals into multiple low-speed, narrow-band signals that are transmitted in parallel along the frequency axis. Enables greater frequency efficiency and transmissions that are especially robust against multipath interference, such as in urban environments.

****The MLD method detects MIMO-multiplexed signals by comparing the received signals and all possible signals to be transmitted to assess maximum likelihood.

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About NTT DOCOMO

NTT DOCOMO is the world's leading mobile communications company. DOCOMO serves over 53 million customers, including 46 million people subscribing to FOMA™, launched as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA in 2001. DOCOMO also offers a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including i-mode™, the world's most popular mobile e-mail/Internet service, used by 48 million people. With the addition of credit-card and other e-wallet functions, DOCOMO mobile phones have become highly versatile tools for daily life. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.docomo.ne.jp/english.

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