NTT Docomo, Japan’s number one mobile carrier, is revving up for a push into the Smart Car space by using location data from the 61.5 million odd devices registered to it to create a platform that monitors traffic conditions in the country.

Docomo, which made its announcement via press release, said that it plans to use its access to Japan’s largest reservoir of location data to build up a database of traffic conditions that developer’s can use to build services upon. The firm intends to target consumers with navigation and drive recording services, while insurance companies will be offered traffic monitoring and analysis apps.

To make it all happen, Docomo is investing around $50 million into Japanese electronics maker Pioneer, which will be tasked with building devices that incorporate its new services. Pioneer is already a major car navigation product maker, and its products use Docomo’s wireless network.

In car navigation and traffic analysis systems are nothing new of course, but while the likes of Google rely on users to offer up their location data to provide real-time analysis of traffic conditions, Docomo as a carrier should have much better access to that kind of data. As a result, we can expect that its services would be far more precise than anything Google can offer.

Docomo probably feels that it needs an edge right now too. It’s lost ground to rivals like KDDI and Softbank in recent years, though it still commands roughly 50% of Japan’s mobile market. Nevertheless, it’s disadvantaged somewhat by being the only operator in Japan that doesn’t offer iPhones. The reason for that is thought to be down to its insistence on pre-loading dozens of its own services onto its phones, a policy that goes against Apple’s own. However, Docomo feels that its services are vital in giving it an edge over its closest rivals, which helps to explain its new found interest in car navigation and analysis systems.