TOKYO (WiMAX Day). Softbank Corp and e-Access have joined forces to bid for one of the two 2.5GHz WiMAX spectrum license that will be offered at auction in Japan before the end of this year. The vehicle that will apply for the licenses will take the form of a joint venture named OpenWin. The company will have six other partners, including the Internet ISPs Nifty Corp, So-net Entertainment Corp, NEC Biglobe Ltd. and FreeBit Co.

Financial support for OpenWin comes form partners that include the global investment bank Goldman Sachs, and the Singapore-based investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd.

According to a report in Jiji Press, the share capital of OpenWin will total 20.05 billion yen, post investment. Softbank and eAccess each will own 32.42% of the company, Goldman Sachs will own 22.44%, Temasek will hold 11.72%, and the remaining shares being distributed equally amongst the ISP partners.

In an effort to encourage competition for WiMAX in Japan, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it will not grant licenses to any company where an major incumbent telecoms provider owns more than one-third of the share capital. This has led to a frenzy of new joint ventures lead by the main telecom networks in Japan to bid on the license.

The OpenWin joint venture may prove a formidable competitor to the NTT DoCoMo and ACCA Networks venture announced last week. In its favour, OpenWin has reeled in the top Internet ISPs in Japan that represent some 15 million subscribers.