Docomo to invest about $4 billion to expand LTE network: Nikkei

(Reuters) - NTT Docomo Inc will spend more than 400 billion yen ($4 billion) this year to expand its LTE network in Japan to all regions now covered by the slower 3G service, the Nikkei said. LTE, more than five times faster than 3G, is used by about a third of Japanese mobile phone subscribers, Nikkei said. The company plans to increase by next March its LTE base stations by 40,000 to around 100,000 -- roughly equal to its 3G service, Nikkei said. ($1 = 103.7200 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore)