May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Four Japanese mobile-phone companies will together spend 1 trillion yen ($10 billion) during the next five years to build a next-generation cellular network with faster internet speeds, the Nikkei newspaper reported today.

NTT Docomo Inc., Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, KDDI Corp., Softbank Mobile Corp. and Emobile Ltd. will apply to the government for licenses for the new standard by May 7, the Nikkei said, without saying where it obtained the information.

The 3.9 generation cellular network will match the speeds of the fastest fixed fiber-optic networks, the newspaper said, without giving further details. The government may issue licenses within months, the report said.

DoCoMo, which aims to begin its service in 2010, has earmarked as much as 400 billion yen to build its infrastructure, while Softbank, KDDI and Emobile are aiming to begin services between 2011 and 2012, the report said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 3, 2009 21:05 EDT