TOKYO, JAPAN, November 29, 2018 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it will begin operating DOCOMO 5G Open LabTM GUAM as a 5G technology verification center in Guam next spring. The official opening date will be announced later.

The facility, DOCOMO's first overseas verification center, will be available for use by the more than 1,900 partners participating in the DOCOMO 5G Open Partner Program, which provides global businesses and organizations with the latest 5G information, test environments and opportunities for partner workshops. Program partners will be able to connect devices and services free-of-charge to the lab's 5G base and mobile stations and other equipment. Once the test environment is extended to outdoor locations during or after next summer, DOCOMO will also assist partners with their outdoor verifications.

DOCOMO 5G Open Lab GUAM will enable partners to conduct fast, cost-effective testing of new services designed for U.S.-market technical and regulatory conditions and implemented in part with outsources devices and technologies. By offering a 5G test environment set up under U.S. conditions, DOCOMO 5G Open Lab GUAM will facilitate prompt, flexible and accurate verifications of equipment, systems and even advanced technologies for applications such as drones and autonomous vehicles.

DOCOMO already operates 5G open labs in Tokyo and Osaka, and will launch a third domestic lab in Okinawa, Japan in December 2018.

Going forward, DOCOMO will continue collaborating with enterprises and other partners from diverse industries to create innovative 5G services that will be used on DOCOMO's forthcoming 5G commercial network in Japan, which is expected to launch in 2020.