Fujitsu and NEC today announced a partnership with Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo to build semiconductor chips for smartphones.
The three firms will work together on developing and manufacturing the chips which aim to consolidate wireless modem functions into more general mobile capabilities, cutting the number of chips needed within a handset.
The joint venture will be named Access Network Technology and the majority of the shares will be owned by Fujitsu – 52.8%. NTT DoCoMo will hold 19.9% of the shares, NEC will own 17.8% and the final 9.5% will be owned by Fujitsu Semiconductor.
“The rapid expansion of the smartphone market and the increase in data traffic volumes have been making communications platforms increasingly important,” read a joint statement.
“The technologies individually held by the companies, as well as the results of their joint development work, offer a huge competitive advantage in the smartphone market, which is expected to experience an even greater global expansion.”
The company will start operations in August, with capital of ¥100m and 85 employees, and be based in Japan.
