NTT DoCoMo Surpasses 2 Million LTE Users

Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo, which currently accounts for about half of the local market, has just announced that its LTE network has over two million users as of March 18th.

Called Xi (pronounced “crossy”), the company’s next-generation service offers increased data transfer speeds, up to 75 Mbps on downlink.

The wireless carrier launched its 4G service in December 2010, and managed to reach the first million users one year later, in December 2011.

The adoption of this service has increased in the meantime, and the carrier is now announcing one more million users added in just three months.

According to the wireless carrier, the main factor that drove adoption up was the launch of the company’s first Xi-compatible smartphones in November 2011.

The company also provided a chart to showcase the impressive uptake the service has been enjoying in the past three months or so.

“NTT DOCOMO, INC., Japan’s leading mobile operator and provider of integrated services centered on mobility, announced today that subscribers to Xi (pronounced “crossy”), the company’s extra-high-speed LTE mobile service offering a maximum downlink of 75 Mbps, surpassed two million on March 18,” the company announced.

One of the smartphones that the company has added to its offering is the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE. Soon, more devices capable of connecting to the carrier’s fast network will arrive on shelves (Apple’s new iPad won’t be among them, at least not in the beginning).

The company promises both smartphones and tablets for its customers, as well as a series of other devices to keep them connected to the fast LTE network.

“Going forward, subscribers are expected to grow as DOCOMO continues to introduce additional Xi-compatible smartphones, tablets and data-communication devices and mobile Wi-Fi routers, as well as beneficial services, such as Xi Talk 24, which enables free, unlimited voice calls between DOCOMO users of Xi-compatible smartphones,” the wireless carrier announced.