ASIA Japan : NTT DoCoMo has recorded a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental Super 3G system for mobile communications.

DoCoMo has been field-testing and refining its experimental Super 3G system using an actual wireless environment near its R&D labs in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, since February. The test involves four Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas for base-station transmission and mobile-station reception in the 20MHz bandwidth, the maximum under new Super 3G standards.

DoCoMo is continuing to test connection handover from one base station to another, and the functionality of applications in indoor and outdoor environments.

Super 3G, which features low-latency data transmission and high spectrum efficiency, is an evolution beyond the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) protocols of W-CDMA, an original technology for 3G packet transmissions. Super 3G, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and core specifications have been approved already.

DoCoMo began accepting proposals from suppliers for Super 3G test equipment in July 2006. By 2009, the company expects to complete development of the technologies required for the eventual launch of a Super 3G network.

Detailed results of the test will be presented by DoCoMo during the CTIA Wireless 2008 tradeshow that will begin in the U.S. city of Las Vegas on April 1.