JTower has developed a glass antenna that it claims can "turn windows into base stations," to deliver 5G services in Tokyo, Japan.

The Japanese telecom infrastructure company has paired with carrier NTT Docomo and glass manufacturer AGC Inc. to deploy the technology at Shinjuku 3-chome East Building.

Together the trio have deployed the glass antenna at the building in Tokyo, Japan, where it is connected to JTower's 5G carrier neutral infrastructure.

JTower notes that the purpose of the installation is to improve the communication environment in outdoor event spaces and roads adjacent to buildings where consideration for the scenery is important.

It adds that infrastructure sharing will "realize more efficient expansion of 5G areas for network operators."

The glass antenna is compatible with the 5G Sub6 band.

JTower completed the development of shared equipment compatible with 5G (Sub6 band) in 2020, launching the first service of the band in Japan. Since then, the company has set out its full-scale deployment nationwide, with a cumulative total of 124 properties (5G, domestic, as of the end of March 2024).

The company said that it plans to deploy the glass antenna across more sites where there's a need for infrastructure sharing.

Last year, NTT Docomo struck a master transaction agreement with JTower to transfer the ownership of an additional 1,552 Docomo towers to JTower for the sum of 17 billion yen ($115.6 million), which NTT Docomo will subsequently lease from JTower.

A year earlier, Docomo agreed to sell 6,002 of its towers to JTower, a company that was founded in 2012 as the first infrastructure-sharing company in Japan.