Japan's plans to spend a total of 880bn yen (£7.26bn) to rollout its LTE network

Japan's largest mobile phone operator plans to spend a total of 880bn yen (£7.26bn) to rollout its LTE network and launch LTE-enabled phones. NTT Docomo is facing increasing competition with its rivals, particularly Softbank and number two carrier KDDI, which both carry the iPhone. Despite rumours persisting across the blogosphere since 2008, the iPhone has yet to reach DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest mobile carrier. Currently the iPhone 4S is available on Softbank (formerly Vodafone Japan) and KDDI’s au network.

Ryuji Yamada, the president and chief executive of DoCoMo told Dow Jones “we haven’t given up our hope of introducing the iPhone”. “If the introduction of the iPhone results in the mass majority of our products occupied by the iPhone, then that’s a scenario that’s difficult to us to swallow”. Will the iPhone finally reach Japan’s biggest carrier? It was revealed on Tuesday that ongoing talks to bring Apple's iPhone to NTT DoCoMo's network have come to a standstill, as the two companies have reached an impasse over installing the carrier's proprietary apps on the device, reports The Wall Street Journal.

NTT DoCoMo President and Chief Executive Ryuji Yamada said that certain conditions have made it difficult for the carrier to bring the iPhone onto its network. "We haven't given up our hope of introducing the iPhone," but Apple usually asks carriers to commit a large volume, Yamada said. "If the introduction of the iPhone results in the mass majority of our products occupied by the iPhone, then that's a scenario that's difficult to us to swallow."

Yamada went on to say that Apple limits NTT DoCoMo from pre-installing applications he claims are important to Japanese customers, like the carrier's e-wallet and i-mode email service. Many NTT DoCoMo feature phones feature a dedicated i-mode button that, when pressed, connects the phone to official i-mode portals.

The company's next-generation 3G service for smartphones, dubbed "sp-mode," rolled out in 2010 and carries with it many of the services that i-mode pioneered, with certain services like i-mode email now having separate apps. Since the release of the first iPhone, Apple has restricted carrier-installed applications and only pre-loads basic apps like Calculator and Mail, allowing users to customize their phone's software through the App Store.

Japan's second largest mobile carrier, KDDI Corp., recently joined wireless operator Softbank Corp. in carrying Apple's popular smartphone. As more Japanese customers move away from expensive voice plans, carriers are concentrating on increasing revenue from data, with hopes riding on the growing popularity of smartphones like Apple's iPhone.