Japan Firms to Start Fiber Optic-Based Internet-Protocol Phone Service in Aug.
Posted on: Wednesday, 28 April 2004, 06:00 CDT
Apr. 28--TOKYO -- Fixed-line telecom carriers NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. said Wednesday they will start offering optical fiber line-based Internet protocol (IP) telephony service for individual customers in August.
The local-call arms of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) asked the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications the same day for authorization to start the new service, the two companies said.
IP telephony refers to a bargain-rate phone service that enables users of personal computers to converse with each other via the Internet and their PCs.
The entry of the two NTT arms with mammoth customer bases into the IP telephony field is likely to speed up and expedite dissemination of IP telephony use in Japanese households.
The two said they will provide the new IP phone service to users of their B-Flet's high-speed Net access service, which counts on fiber-optic lines for data transmission.
Greater details of the service, including charges, will be determined down the track, they said.
In the initial phase of the service, NTT East will limit its service area to parts of Tokyo's 23 wards, while NTT West will limit its service area to parts of Osaka Prefecture, both targeting condominium residents.
Last October, telecom carrier KDDI Corp. started optical fiber line-based IP telephony service for individual customers.
Internet business investor Softbank Corp. is considering entering the field. The company already provides conventional IP phone service based on asymmetric digital subscriber line technology through a subsidiary.
-----
To see more of Kyodo News International, go to http://www.kyodonews.com
(c) 2004, Kyodo News International, Tokyo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
SFTBF, 9984, 9433, NTT, 9432,
Related Articles
- Frontier's Bundled Internet and Phone Services Promotions Under Scrutiny
- Sony Unveils Free Internet-Based Phone Service
- More Than Half of High-Tech Households Subscribing to an Internet-Based Phone Service Have Disconnected Their Traditional Landline Phone, According to Telephia
- SBC Hooking Up Internet-Based Phone Service
- FCC Blocks States From Regulating Internet-Based Phone Services
- FCC Rules on Internet-Based Phone Services
- Japan Firm KDDI to Launch Discount Fixed-Line Internet-Protocol Phone Service
- Verizon Has a New Service ; Company Will Introduce Internet-Based Phone Use for Customers
- Time Warner to use cable lines to add phone service
- Time Warner Plans to Sell Voice Phone Service Over Its Cable Lines
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds