The word on the net waves is Ericsson has just signed an agreement with leading Japanese operator Softbank Mobile with a view to expand and upgrade their High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network.

The word coming from cellular-news is that Ericsson is to supply e-HSPA which is an enhanced High Speed Packet Access network on existing and new base stations in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo, all of which are high traffic areas.

President of Ericsson Japan, Fredrik Alatalo says: “We are extremely happy to expand our business with Softbank and to support them in providing high speed mobile broadband in the Japanese market.”

This move appears to show the infrastructure vendors are now wishing to expand into developing markets, along with boosting the speeds of existing networks.

As yet there are no financial details of the agreement or any indication as to when exactly this expansion will commence.