Tokyo – October 13, 2026 -- NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Boston-based Abside Networks, Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding on October 13, 2026, to jointly study high-altitude platform station (HAPS) communications and AI-driven network control for next-generation infrastructure.
Joint studies target wide-area, high-capacity HAPS connectivity
The two companies will examine wide-area, high-capacity and massive-connectivity communications via HAPS, along with network control and data utilization. The MOU covers joint technical study toward future collaboration. It does not specify financial terms, deployment timelines or commercial commitments.
HAPS are unmanned aerial platforms operating in the stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 20 kilometers. Fitted with wireless communications equipment, they are being studied as a way to cover airspace, maritime regions, and sparsely populated or mountainous areas where conventional coverage has not been economically viable.
Abside brings Project Loon stratospheric experience to the partnership
DOCOMO has been running studies and demonstrations toward wide-area HAPS communications services. The company says radio access networks (RANs) and communications equipment must be adapted to stratospheric conditions, which differ from those on the ground and demand specialized knowledge.
Abside gained that experience through Project Loon, a Google-led stratospheric project that sought to deliver communications using high-altitude balloons. It has since developed HAPS communications equipment and RAN technologies, as well as non-terrestrial network (NTN) and AI-based network control technologies.
Four study areas span architecture, AI control and data
The principal areas of study are:
- System architectures for wide-area, high-capacity and massive-connectivity communications using HAPS
- AI applied to demand forecasting and to control of beams, capacity, spectrum and interference in stratospheric RANs
- Collection and use of data on communications quality, network operations and sensing in the stratosphere
- Future integration with external applications and service platforms
DOCOMO's three-dimensional network vision requires integrated TN-NTN orchestration
DOCOMO is independently studying a three-dimensional communications infrastructure that integrates AI with NTN initiatives, including HAPS. The vision targets growing communications demand tied to expanding AI use. Realizing it will require RAN and network orchestration technologies able to control terrestrial networks (TN) and NTNs in an integrated way.
Abside is developing radio equipment for TN and NTN RANs using a large number of antenna elements (Very Large Array) for high-spatial-resolution, precise beam control. It is also building an AI-driven software platform for integrated control of networks across ground, stratosphere and space. The company's AI3DNTM vision, a single AI-driven network spanning terrestrial, stratospheric and space-based layers for 6G deployments, rests on its AI3DRTM RAN product lines.
The release is part of "NTT C89," a space-business brand promoted by NTT Group companies.