With NTT pushing its innovative optical and wireless network (IOWN) initiative for 6G development, KDDI and other Japanese companies have joined in the efforts. With Japan falling behind in 5G deployment, Japan-based telecom operators are taking preemptive actions together to capture rising 6G opportunities.
NTT partnered with Intel and Sony and co-founded the IOWN Global Forum to jointly drive the IOWN roll-out. As of October 2023, more than 120 corporations or organizations had joined the forum, which is aimed at promoting technological standardization and developing IOWN application models. NTT launched IOWN 1.0 in March 2023, which is being used to enable remote healthcare and online learning with multiple pilot projects already underway.
NTT plans to invest JPY100 billion every year from 2022 through 2027 into the research and development of equipment for IOWN services. It began to work with Fujitsu, NEC, and Nokia on 6G trial projects in 2022.
