Finnish telecommunications colossus Nokia has announced that it has sealed a major deal to supply 5G base stations to Japan's largest mobile operator NTT Docomo. The agreement represents the vendor's first large-scale 5G contract since the first formal 5G New Radio (NR) standard was established and subsequently approved in last month.

Nokia is working with Japan's NTT DOCOMO to test applications using a 5G base station and the Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform end-user device. This demonstrates the potential of Nokia 5G FIRST to deliver enhanced broadband at vastly greater scale. A showcase at the 5G Tokyo Bay Summit 2017 will signal the start of 5G trials in the Tokyo area.

Japanese automotive manufacturer DENSO Corporation, along with Ericsson, Intel Corporation, Japanese telecom company NTT DOCOMO and Toyota announced that they have initiated the formation of the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium.

Sumitomo Electric Industries and NTT DOCOMO have been jointly testing the real-time collection and delivery of traffic information using high-definition sensors connected via a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communications system for advanced driving support.

Global technology superpowers China, the USA and Japan are set to have the highest number of 5G connections - with new research indicating that the trio of nations will lead the way by 2025. A report into which was conducted by Juniper Research - predicts that the three countries will account for 55% of all 5G connections by then.

Chinese vendor ZTE is refocusing its strategic sales plan towards Japan in a bid to secure a number of lucrative 5G contracts ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.