South Korean tech firms said Tuesday they are gearing up for the commercialization of 5G services in Japan with plans to roll out latest smartphone models as SoftBank Telecom is set to launch operations this month.

Samsung Electronics is likely to launch the Galaxy S20 lineup, introducing 5G phones for the first time in Japan.

SoftBank will be the first Japanese mobile carrier to launch 5G services on March 27, with other Japanese carriers like NTT and KDDI are also planning to launch soon.

According to Samsung, the Japanese telecom firms will officially announce the launch date.

Considering that Samsung’s archrival Apple hasn’t yet released any 5G-enabled devices, Japan’s 5G service launch is seen as an opportunity for Samsung to corner higher market share.

As of the third quarter last year, Apple dominated the market with a 62.7 percent share, while Samsung took a mere 6.7 percent.

LG Electronics is also expected to launch the 5G-based V60 ThinQ next month.

It had planned to unveil the V60 5G model at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, but the event was canceled due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)