The rest of the world is catching on rapidly but overall, Japan is still the world’s most advanced mobile society. That being said, you’d assume that the first 4G (LTE) device to get an official certification from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications must be coming from one of the many mobile companies over here, but it was South Korea’s LG who got the bragging rights [KR] for that today.
Just look at how proud the model in the picture is holding said certification in her hands. The Korean company will sell not a handset but a 4G-compatible data modem, the LD100, in Japan. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo is ready to distribute the device in its home market (Docomo said just in November 2009 it will kick off 4G operations in Japan in December this year).
Docomo (and other Japanese carriers) have been conducting 4G field tests in Japan for quite some time now, and you can expect the data modem to be among the first 4G devices available later this year.