BT and Vodafone to be big in Japan

This award gives the two telcos a foothold in the highly prized Japanese mobile market, which is widely recognised as the world's most technologically advanced.

BT and its partners are investing around 4.4bn in future J-Phone operations, with 3G service roll-out expected in December 2001. Ownership of the J-Phone Communications Company is split between Japan Telecom (54%), Vodafone Airtouch (26%), and BT (20%).

DDI Corp and NTT DoCoMo have also been awarded licences.

This development comes after recent reports that NTT DoCoMo is planning to gain a foothold in the UK market. Both companies hold 3G licences in the UK, along with Orange, One 2 One and Canadian telco TIW UMTS.