Broadcom has signed a 10-year agreement with NTT DOCOMO to modernize and expand the Japanese mobile operator’s private cloud infrastructure using VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). The agreement covers software licensing, technical assistance, maintenance and advanced support services, establishing a long-term technology framework for DOCOMO’s digital services, infrastructure automation and future AI workloads. Broadcom describes the arrangement as its first comprehensive 10-year VMware software agreement in Japan.

The agreement extends a collaboration that began in 2019. The companies will coordinate technology roadmaps to improve service availability, cybersecurity and application deployment. VCF provides unified management of compute, storage and networking resources, while VCF Forte Support and dedicated support managers will assist DOCOMO’s operations.

A major objective is a common platform for virtual machines, Kubernetes containers and emerging AI applications. DOCOMO plans to use VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) to streamline provisioning, testing and deployment, alongside AIOps, anomaly detection and security automation. The companies also cite AI, 6G and NTT’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) initiative as longer-term architectural considerations.

Broadcom–NTT DOCOMO Agreement: Key Points

Hiroshi Ishimaru, General Manager, Service Design Department, NTT DOCOMO, said the operator intends to strengthen technical collaboration while maintaining reliable existing services. Paul Turner, Chief Product Officer, VMware Cloud Foundation Division, Broadcom, said the common platform will support virtual machines, containers and AI workloads.

Analysis:

The agreement establishes a long-term commitment to VCF following Broadcom’s November 2023 VMware acquisition and its shift toward integrated subscription-based private-cloud offerings.

Converging traditional IT and cloud-native infrastructure. Operators have historically maintained separate environments for enterprise IT, digital services and network functions. VCF and VKS support traditional VMs and containerized applications on a common operational foundation. The announcement does not establish that DOCOMO is migrating its entire 5G Core or radio access network to VCF.

Automation and resilience. Lifecycle management, automated resource placement, predictive anomaly detection and security patching are intended to reduce operational complexity. Dedicated technical support makes the arrangement broader than a software license renewal.

Future AI and telecom cloud. Broadcom’s VMware Telco Cloud Platform 9, introduced at MWC 2026, is based on VCF 9 and targets cloud-native telecom workloads and AI. The DOCOMO deal is separate but aligns with this broader strategy. The release identifies 6G and IOWN as future considerations; it does not announce a direct VCF–IOWN integration.

The contract’s duration provides a framework for coordinated infrastructure evolution. Broadcom did not disclose its financial value, license volumes or deployment milestones.

Broadcom Company Profile

Source: Broadcom press release, October 19, 2026, distributed through GlobeNewswire. Original source URL not independently verified.

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