Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is one step closer to joining the country’s wireless market.

The company announced Monday it received government approval for a 4G base station in the 1.7 GHz band and aims to launch a mobile service next fall.

Japan’s wireless sector is currently dominated by NTT Domoco, KDDI and SoftBank Group, and Reuters reported that government officials hope an additional entrant would bolster competition in the market.

California tech company Keysight Technologies recently announced an agreement with South Korean carrier KT to collaborate on advanced 4G and 5G technology.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the companies will work on 5G New Radio testing and measurement solutions, including emulation solutions that scale from early R&D to validation to deployment.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Keysight as their leading test and measurement expertise and solutions for 5G will enable us to execute on our commercial deployment plans more efficiently and reliably,” KT’s Jeon Hongbeam said in a statement.

Ericsson says a partnership with telecom engineering firm Ambra Solutions helped establish Canada’s deepest LTE network.

The network, located three kilometers underneath Agnico Eagle’s LaRonde mine in Quebec, will enable mobile voice and data, along with several IoT systems that officials said would increase mining safety and operational efficiency.

“Deploying this underground LTE network will provide us with new learning opportunities in a novel application and how they can lead to future technologies and ideas,” said Ericsson Canada head Graham Osborne.