NTT DoCoMo switching off 2G in 2012

NTT DoCoMo switching off 2G in 2012. According to PCWorld, NTT DoCoMo in Japan will end 2G cellular service in 2012. NTT DoCoMo was first in the world to launch commercial 3G service when it debuted a network in Tokyo in October 2001. The company released its last 2G phone in 2004 and saw its 3G subscribers outnumber those on the 2G network in the middle of 2006. At the end of December 2008, about 88 percent of the carrier's 54 million subscribers were on the 3G network. The remaining 6.7 million will be offered incentives to make the jump to the 3G network before it closes on March 31, 2012.

Their 3G network is based on the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) standard that (the dominant 3G technology in use worldwide). In contrast, its 2G network was a homebrew PDC (Personal Digital Communications) standard that was developed by NTT DoCoMo but never gained any support outside of Japan.

(source)