Nokia will launch its own MVNO in Japan in the first half of 2009. According to reports in Kyodo News and the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, which cited unnamed sources, the world's largest handset maker will begin offering wireless service in Japan, and will focus on the high-end market with its luxury Vertu phones. The company will use NTT DoCoMo's network.

The Japanese wireless market, which is dominated by DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank, has been especially hard for Helsinki-based Nokia to crack because the operators retain tight control over what handsets make it into the market.

For more:
- see this IHT article

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