Samsung Electronics marked its splash into the global fourth-generation telecom market in earnest with a contract for providing long-term-evolution equipment to Japan’s second-largest mobile phone operator.

Samsung will be offering its LTE equipment to KDDI to help the firm launch its LTE services starting next year, the Seoul-based electronics company said on Monday.

LTE is the fourth-generation of telecommunication technology and will likely have three times more capacity of the existing third generation technology. It also will transmit data seven times faster, according to industry experts.

KDDI’s plans follow close on the heels of NTT Docomo, Japan’s leading mobile phone operator that launched LTE services late last year.

Samsung Electronics’ equipment will allow KDDI to smoothly manage the growing volume of wireless Internet traffic. At the same time, KDDI will be able to offer enhanced communication quality in lesser-populated areas with weaker communication signals.

The move comes after the local electronics company previously agreed to offer such solutions to the U.S. and the Middle East.

“We hope to offer solutions that would benefit not only our clients, which are the telecom companies, but also the consumers,” said Kim Young-ky, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics’ telecommunications systems business. “We also plan to continue our efforts to strengthen our lead in the LTE market.”

In 2008, Samsung Electronics became the first electronics company in the world to publicly demonstrate its LTE technology.

The firm is currently collaborating with more than 30 companies around the world with LTE, among which eight are seeking to go commercial.

LTE, due to its high-speed and unparalleled data-handling capacity, is heralded as the up and coming telecommunication technology that will change the speed and landscape of mobile networks.

The country’s leading mobile carrier, SK Telecom recently said it hopes to commercialize LTE technology in Seoul in July. Rivals such as LG Uplus are also preparing to offer such services in Seoul and surrounding metropolitan regions.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)