For mobile communication, wireless base stations are installed all over the country. Smartphones communicate by connecting wirelessly to the wireless base station. We will summarize the number of wireless base stations of Japanese mobile network operators (MNO: Mobile Network Operator) as of the end of September 2022.
Japan’s mobile network operators (MNOs) are the companies shown in the diagram below. We will organize the number of base stations in operation for each mobile carrier by frequency band and communication method (5G NR, 4G LTE, 3G). We will also organize the characteristics of wireless networks for each mobile communications carrier in terms of the number of wireless base stations.
- Overview of the number of base stations and each mobile network carrier in Japan
- Overview of the number of base stations and mobile network carrier (docomo, KDDI, Softbank, Rakuten) in Japan
- How to count the number of base stations
- Reference source for statistical information on the number of base stations (Japanese government release)
- End date of 3G service (KDDI, Softbank, Docomo) in Japan
- Analysis of the number of NTT Docomo wireless base stations
- Analysis of the number of KDDI and UQ wireless base stations
- Analysis of the number of SoftBank and WCP wireless base stations
- Analysis of Rakuten Mobile’s number of wireless base stations
- Summary
Overview of the number of base stations and each mobile network carrier in Japan
Overview of the number of base stations and mobile network carrier (docomo, KDDI, Softbank, Rakuten) in Japan
The number of wireless base stations of docomo, KDDI, Softbank, and Rakuten carriers (MNO: Mobile Network Operator) as of the end of March 2023 is shown in the graph below. 5G (5th generation communication: 5G NR), 4G (4th generation communication: LTE), and 3G (3rd generation communication) each indicate the generation of mobile phones.
This blog post information is based on information released by the Japanese government (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) in January 2024. The information on the number of base stations listed on this page is the number of base stations as of the end of March 2023.
5G service was just launched in Japan in 2020. This is information on the number of 5G base stations and the increase stage. Below is a graph and table showing the number of base stations for each telecommunications carrier.
For the number of base stations for each operator in Japan as of the end of September 2022, please refer to the article below.
How to count the number of base stations
The method for counting the number of base stations of Japanese mobile network operators (MNO) in this blog article is as follows. Ultra-small base stations such as femto-cells are not counted in the base station statistics.
The figure below shows the base stations that are counted in this blog based on the wireless cell size of general base stations.
Reference source for statistical information on the number of base stations (Japanese government release)
The number of base stations of Japanese mobile network operators (MNO) in this blog article is based on information published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The graph is based on the following information released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
This is base station information as of the end of March 2023, so the number of 5G base stations of each mobile communication carrier has increased considerably since then.
Here is Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, List of Press Materials (January 2024) [link (Japanese)] the above information.
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, List of Press Materials (January 2024), “Announcement of the Summary of the Survey Results of the FY2023 Survey on Radio Wave Usage Related to Mobile Phones and Nationwide BWA” [link (Japanease)] (link to PDF file, file 8/148 page)
In this article, we will organize and analyze the number of base stations for each operator as of the end of September 2022. As shown in the diagram below, the end of September 2022 will be 3 years since the start of 5G commercial services.
End date of 3G service (KDDI, Softbank, Docomo) in Japan
KDDI ended its 3G service in March 2022. Softbank ended its 3G service in April 2024.
NTT Docomo plans to offer 3G service at the end of March 2026. (See the diagram below)
3G services operated in the 2.0GHz band and the 800MHz/900MHz band.
Analysis of the number of NTT Docomo wireless base stations
Number of NTT Docomo base stations (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band)
We have organized information on NTT Docomo’s base stations counted by communication method generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band (band) in a table. (See table below)
NTT Docomo’s number of base stations (by generation 5G/4G/3G and band) graph and its characteristics
Below is a graph of information that counts the number of NTT Docomo base stations by generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band. (See figure below)
Number of NTT Docomo 5G base stations
5G base stations operate at high frequencies of 28GHz, 4.5GHz, and 3.7GHz.
Additionally, some 4G frequencies are also being repurposed for 5G. 3.5GHz (band 42) and 700MHz (band 28) are being repurposed as frequencies for 5G NR. Since 4G frequencies do not provide sufficient communication speed for 5G, 4G frequencies are being converted to 5G mainly for the purpose of expanding the 5G area (expanding 5G population coverage).
Analysis of the number of KDDI and UQ wireless base stations
Number of KDDI and UQ base stations (by generation 5G/4G/3G and band)
We have organized information on the number of KDDI base stations by generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band (band) in a table. (See table below)
Number of KDDI and UQ base stations (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band) graph and its characteristics
Below is a graph of information counting the number of KDDI base stations by generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band. (See figure below)
The 2.0GHz band (Band 1) has a large number of 4G LTE base stations, approximately 50,000, and covers all of Japan with base stations that perform wireless communication in this band.
The 800MHz band (Band 26/Band 19) also has a large number of 4G LTE base stations, approximately 80,000, and covers all of Japan with base stations that perform wireless communication in this band. In terms of frequency characteristics, KDDI’s 800MHz band (band 26/band 19) has the widest wireless coverage. Therefore, the band that KDDI lends to Rakuten for roaming is the frequency of this band.
Number of KDDI and UQ 5G base stations
Some 4G frequencies are being repurposed for 5G. 3.5GHz (Band 42), 1.7GHz (Band 3), and 700MHz (Band 28) are being repurposed as 5G NR frequencies. 4G frequencies do not provide sufficient communication speeds for 5G, so 4G frequencies are being repurposed for 5G mainly for the purpose of expanding the 5G area (expanding the population coverage rate of 5G).
Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) is also likely to be used when repurposing 4G frequency bands for 5G.
More than 50,000 5G base stations will be in operation by the end of March 2024.
8,300 5G base stations in the 2.3GHz band (n40) are planned to be installed nationwide by the end of March 2027. Base stations in this frequency band will be dynamically shared between broadcasting and communications businesses.
Analysis of the number of SoftBank and WCP wireless base stations
Number of SoftBank and WCP base stations (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band)
This table shows information on the number of SoftBank base stations counted by communication method generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band. (See table below)
Softbank and WCP base station number (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band) graph and its characteristics
Below is a graph showing the number of SoftBank base stations counted by communication method generation (5G/4G/3G) and wireless band. (See figure below)
The 2.5GHz band (Band 41) has a large number of 4G LTE base stations, approximately 66,000, and covers all of Japan with base stations that perform wireless communication in this band.
The 2.0GHz band (Band 1) has a large number of 4G LTE base stations, approximately 46,000, and covers all of Japan with base stations that perform wireless communication in this band.
The 900MHz band (Band 8) also has a large number of 4G LTE base stations, approximately 60,000, and covers all of Japan with base stations that perform wireless communication in this band.
Number of SoftBank and WCP 5G base stations
5G base stations operate at high frequencies of 28GHz and 3.7GHz.
4G frequencies are also being actively repurposed for 5G. 3.5GHz (Band 42), 1.5GHz (Band 21), and 700MHz (Band 28) are being repurposed as 5G NR frequencies. 4G frequencies do not provide sufficient communication speeds for 5G, so 4G frequencies are being repurposed for 5G mainly for the purpose of expanding the 5G area (expanding the population coverage rate of 5G).
At 1.7GHz (Band 3/9), base stations support a technology called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), and 5G NR and 4G LTE services are being operated simultaneously.
Analysis of Rakuten Mobile’s number of wireless base stations
Number of Rakuten Mobile base stations (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band)
Below is a graph of information that counts the number of Rakuten Mobile base stations by generation (5G/4G) and wireless band. (See figure below)
Rakuten Mobile’s number of base stations (by communication method generation 5G/4G/3G and band) graph and its characteristics
Below is a graph showing the number of Rakuten base stations counted by communication method generation (5G/4G) and wireless band. (See figure below)
1.7GHz (Band 3) LTE is Rakuten’s main band. The platinum band, 800MHz (Band 28), was also allocated to Rakuten.
Number of Rakuten Mobile 5G base stations
5G base stations operate at high frequencies of 28GHz (n257) and 3.7GHz (n77/n78). As of the end of March 2023, 21,500 5G base stations have been deployed.
Summary
We have organized the number of base stations in operation for each wireless band and communication method (5G NR, 4G LTE, 3G) for each mobile communication carrier in Japan. We have also organized the characteristics of wireless networks for each mobile communications carrier in terms of the number of wireless base stations in Japan.
We have compiled information on the number of wireless base stations of Japanese mobile network operators (MNOs) as of the end of March 2023. Each company has slightly different methods for deploying 5G base stations. We have compiled the information so that you can understand these differences.
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