Japan's second-largest wireless phone carrier announced plans Sunday to begin selling cellular service in the United States using Sprint-Nextel's network. The company is planning to target mainly Japanese customers living in the US, as it looks for customers beyond its saturated home market.

Although a number of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) have fallen flat due to their reliance on a third-party network, KDDI believes it can distinguish itself by targeting Japanese who may already be familiar with the brand. According to Tokyo's Asahi newspaper, KDDI expects to begin selling phones later this month, rebranding handsets from Sanyo under its KDDI Mobile label.