Fiber-Optic Broadband Service Subscribers Near 8 M. In Japan

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)–The number of subscribers to fiber- optic broadband services in Japan as of the end of last December stood at 7,940,384, up 11.0 pct from three months before, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

The proportion of fiber-optic service subscribers topped 30 pct of total broadband subscribers for the first time to stand at 30.8 pct, the ministry reported.

The rise in the number of fiber-optic broadband service subscribers mainly reflects promotion by Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.’s two regional units–NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp.

In contrast, the number of subscribers to digital subscriber lines, including asymmetric digital subscriber lines, fell 1.1 pct to 14,236,041, showing a shift from ADSL to fiber-optic services.END

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