NTT DoCoMo launched HSDPA service in Tokyo, and will cover all major Japanese cities with the technology by the end of October. The carrier is selling its new HSDPA-capable phone, the N902iX, to support the service launch.

DoCoMo said its network, FOMA HIGH-SPEED, will support downlink speeds of up to 3.6 megabytes per second. The carrier said it will not require a special contract or service charge for its HSDPA network, and that charges for its W-CDMA network, which it calls FOMA, will remain unchanged.

DoCoMo said it will broaden its HSDPA network to cover 70 percent of Japans population by the end of March, and 90 percent of the population by the end of March 2008.