Press Release Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

June 6th, 2006

Number of Contracts for Broadband Services and Others
(as of End of March 2006)

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications here announces the results derived from tallying the number of contracts for broadband services and others at the end of March 2006, reported from telecommunication corporations in Japan according to provisions in the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business (Ministerial Ordinance of MPT No. 46 of 1988).
The following summarizes major trends found in the results derived from the information for this fiscal year.
Major trends
  • The number of contracts for FTTH exceeded 5 million. This net increase grew for six consecutive quarter terms.

    The number of contracts for FTTH as of the end of March 2006 exceeded five million, reaching 5.46 million. The net increase contracts reached a record high of 820,000 between January and March 2006, and has grown for six consecutive quarter terms since the term from July to September 2004.

  • The number of contracts for broadband services reached 23.30 million.

    The number of contracts for broadband services at the end of March 2006 reached 23.30 million. Since the total number was 22.37 million at the end of December 2005, it increased by 930,000 contracts during the quarter term.

• Breakdown of broadband services
  Total for broadband services FTTH DSL CATV FWA
End of
March 2006
23,301,105 5,457,697 14,517,859 3,309,481 16,068
End of
December 2005
22,374,934* 4,637,280 14,480,958 3,236,466* 20,230
Net increase
(From January
to March 2006)
   926,171   820,417       36,901    73,015 -4,162

* The number of contracts for broadband services: Derived from totaling the numbers of contracts for FTTH access services, DSL access services, CATV access services, and FWA access services.
* In line with the data announced at the end of March 2006, MIC modified the number of contracts and the total number at the end of December 2005 for CATV services and for broadband services.


Attachment for reference

  • Separate sheet: Change and Other Information concerning the Number of Contracts for Broadband Services (Figures in PDF)

For further inquiries regarding this matter:
             Persons in charge: Shibazaki, Assistant-Division Chief; Kosugi, Subdivision Chief; Fujita
Computer Communications Division, Telecommunications Business Department,
Telecommunications Bureau in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
TEL: 03-5253-5854
FAX: 03-5253-5855


Change in the Number of Contracts for Broadband Services and Others
(as of end of March 2006)
  1. Number of contracts for Internet connection services
    (total from 38 carriers that marked 50,000 contracts or more)

      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 28,743,610 29,359,963 29,547,385 29,689,396
    Fiscal Year 2005 30,295,160 (5%) 30,585,747 (4%) 30,796,456 (4%) 31,248,330 (5%)

  2. Number of contracts for FTTH access services (total from 100 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 1,757,716 2,034,433 2,432,093 2,896,936
    Fiscal Year 2005 3,410,440 (94%) 3,978,529 (96%) 4,637,280 (91%) 5,457,697 (88%)
    * The number of contracts at the end of March 2006 comprises 2,328,339 contracts for apartment houses and 3,129,358 contracts for others.

  3. Number of contracts for DSL access services (total from 47 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 12,118,714 12,803,883 13,325,408 13,675,840
    Fiscal Year 2005 14,082,268 (16%) 14,305,521 (12%) 14,480,958 (9%) 14,517,859 (6%)

  4. Number of contracts for CATV access services (total from 377 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 2,688,813 2,793,063 2,873,076 2,959,712
    Fiscal Year 2005 3,061,881 (14%) 3,121,680 (12%) 3,236,466 (13%) 3,309,481 (12%)
    * In line with the data announced at the end of March 2006, MIC corrected the total number of contracts at the end of December 2005.

  5. Number of contracts for FWA access services (total from 22 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 29,514 27,697 26,435 24,658
    Fiscal Year 2005 23,582 (-20%) 21,977 (-21%) 20,230 (-23%) 16,068 (-35%)

  6. Number of contracts for public wireless LAN access services (total from 20 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 52,644 74,128 97,369 117,307
    Fiscal Year 2005 4,676,996 (–) 4,838,177 (–) 6,252,805 (–) 5,271,424 (–)
    * Some carriers have changed the way they count the number of contracts since the end of March 2006.
    * More public wireless LAN access services have been considered in counting the number of contracts for the services since the end of June 2005, in that those offered as options to other access services are included, in addition to single wireless LAN services.

  7. Number of contracts for cell phone and PHS terminal Internet connection services
    (total from 18 carriers)

      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 72,610,356 73,822,143 75,032,137 76,548,405
    Fiscal Year 2005 77,754,877 (7%) 78,923,329 (7%) 80,088,005 (7%) 81,776,091 (7%)

  8. Number of contracts for IP-VPN services (total from 39 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 224,976 230,765 236,686 244,360
    Fiscal Year 2005 248,667 (11%) 261,980 (14%) 264,226 (12%) 270,608 (11%)

  9. Number of contracts for Wide-Area Ethernet services (total from 41 carriers)
      End of June End of September End of December End of March
    Fiscal Year 2004 86,266 95,859 106,105 117,307
    Fiscal Year 2005 126,252 (46%) 138,067 (44%) 149,943 (41%) 159,927 (36%)

    * Figures enclosed in parentheses indicate the increase compared to the previous year.


Number of Contracts for Broadband Services by Prefecture
(as of the end of March 2006)

  Total
  End of Mar. 2005 End of Sept. 2005 End of Dec. 2005 End of Mar. 2006
19,557,146 21,427,707 22,374,934 23,301,105
Hokkaido 674,096 751,230 789,438 829,774
Aomori Prefecture 127,393 141,393 147,632 154,284
Iwate Prefecture 120,369 133,852 140,859 148,647
Miyagi Prefecture 297,607 330,548 345,693 363,550
Akita Prefecture 114,686 124,888 130,054 136,072
Yamagata Prefecture 127,867 140,646 147,009 153,814
Fukushima Prefecture 188,244 212,368 223,693 235,929
Ibaraki Prefecture 349,385 387,257 407,404 425,347
Tochigi Prefecture 237,390 263,996 276,501 289,149
Gunma Prefecture 239,251 268,448 281,577 294,669
Saitama Prefecture 1,180,323 1,291,987 1,345,656 1,400,099
Chiba Prefecture 1,039,543 1,134,301 1,184,733 1,231,233
Tokyo 3,133,636 3,396,643 3,565,758 3,700,779
Kanagawa Prefecture 1,828,045 1,995,269 2,057,136 2,130,110
Niigata Prefecture 257,073 290,024 303,588 318,349
Toyama Prefecture 157,726 170,364 176,895 182,828
Ishikawa Prefecture 154,078 168,914 175,943 182,550
Fukui Prefecture 115,498 124,738 129,946 133,871
Yamanashi Prefecture 111,052 122,804 128,849 134,786
Nagano Prefecture 283,418 315,453 328,832 343,042
Gifu Prefecture 251,613 280,148 295,303 307,845
Shizuoka Prefecture 587,509 641,803 667,550 691,941
Aichi Prefecture 1,171,419 1,281,436 1,329,681 1,383,159
Mie Prefecture 286,140 309,683 319,866 330,901
Shiga Prefecture 189,768 211,470 221,197 229,840
Kyoto Prefecture 443,126 487,400 507,648 521,616
Osaka Prefecture 1,645,122 1,756,010 1,841,787 1,931,879
Hyogo Prefecture 882,743 956,457 993,866 1,027,965
Nara Prefecture 226,956 240,346 248,114 256,422
Wakayama Prefecture 127,120 139,636 145,474 152,311
Tottori Prefecture 65,725 74,241 77,364 80,714
Shimane Prefecture 71,747 80,191 84,120 88,026
Okayama Prefecture 252,155 276,977 289,313 301,165
Hiroshima Prefecture 376,876 417,529 436,772 457,354
Yamaguchi Prefecture 177,265 198,990 207,957 217,109
Tokushima Prefecture 93,491 106,680 110,861 115,031
Kagawa Prefecture 129,347 142,815 149,005 155,359
Ehime Prefecture 171,340 189,107 196,645 204,335
Kochi Prefecture 72,533 81,054 84,538 88,175
Fukuoka Prefecture 685,562 765,770 806,807 845,952
Saga Prefecture 74,265 83,888 87,635 92,112
Nagasaki Prefecture 145,419 162,651 169,779 176,779
Kumamoto Prefecture 170,830 192,749 202,678 213,562
Oita Prefecure 140,487 155,039 162,002 168,174
Miyazaki Prefecture 115,343 126,403 132,945 137,974
Kagoshima Prefecture 137,438 158,708 166,975 177,508
Okinawa Prefecture 129,127 145,403 151,857 159,015
* As MIC corrected the totals for DSL services by prefecture both at the end of September and at the end of December in 2005, and the total numbers for the whole of Japan and by prefecture for the CATV services at the end of December 2005, the totals have changed. (For information on the breakdowns, refer to the sections on DSL and CATV).
* Since the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business did not set out any provisions regarding the number of contracts for broadband services by prefecture, MIC did not tally the information before the end of December 2004 and at the end of June 2005.
* Rows are shaded for the top three prefectures in descending order of the number of contracts.


Number of Contracts for FTTH Access Services by Prefecture
(as of the end of March 2006)

  FTTH
  End of Mar. 2005 End of Sept. 2005 End of Dec. 2005 End of Mar. 2006
2,896,936 3,978,529 4,637,280 5,457,697
Hokkaido 97,298 145,090 169,894 202,391
Aomori Prefecture 6,411 10,159 12,518 16,502
Iwate Prefecture 8,422 13,826 17,120 22,002
Miyagi Prefecture 40,145 59,166 71,199 87,032
Akita Prefecture 8,445 13,160 15,891 19,808
Yamagata Prefecture 8,091 14,251 18,106 22,320
Fukushima Prefecture 22,782 36,401 43,767 53,315
Ibaraki Prefecture 19,890 31,586 40,148 50,280
Tochigi Prefecture 18,235 27,315 33,138 41,795
Gunma Prefecture 14,657 26,012 32,007 39,472
Saitama Prefecture 166,209 233,586 273,838 321,725
Chiba Prefecture 167,297 231,332 270,907 314,598
Tokyo 665,811 893,021 1,017,208 1,173,838
Kanagawa Prefecture 280,332 385,189 447,197 521,736
Niigata Prefecture 18,362 30,387 37,007 45,549
Toyama Prefecture 12,700 17,188 20,510 24,586
Ishikawa Prefecture 19,652 26,427 31,437 37,635
Fukui Prefecture 10,494 13,678 15,990 19,479
Yamanashi Prefecture 6,050 11,097 14,965 19,560
Nagano Prefecture 17,264 26,485 33,425 43,461
Gifu Prefecture 22,605 33,228 40,112 48,636
Shizuoka Prefecture 46,954 63,606 79,045 97,519
Aichi Prefecture 146,926 193,859 223,910 265,983
Mie Prefecture 19,152 25,784 30,572 37,333
Shiga Prefecture 51,100 67,646 75,706 83,787
Kyoto Prefecture 88,344 119,843 138,499 155,465
Osaka Prefecture 315,771 411,972 480,234 562,768
Hyogo Prefecture 162,541 210,309 238,855 270,101
Nara Prefecture 34,888 47,538 52,957 59,330
Wakayama Prefecture 20,948 28,694 33,498 39,212
Tottori Prefecture 6,850 9,254 10,584 12,511
Shimane Prefecture 8,221 10,324 11,639 13,157
Okayama Prefecture 29,336 37,966 44,721 53,971
Hiroshima Prefecture 68,560 91,747 106,271 124,944
Yamaguchi Prefecture 15,101 21,423 24,982 29,539
Tokushima Prefecture 6,519 13,704 16,024 19,622
Kagawa Prefecture 10,255 15,291 17,892 22,158
Ehime Prefecture 13,572 20,702 24,567 30,326
Kochi Prefecture 7,207 10,660 13,002 16,684
Fukuoka Prefecture 113,213 156,385 188,780 227,704
Saga Prefecture 6,173 8,742 10,463 13,215
Nagasaki Prefecture 10,413 15,789 19,109 23,699
Kumamoto Prefecture 26,045 35,290 41,032 49,638
Oita Prefecure 15,050 19,991 23,696 29,402
Miyazaki Prefecture 10,533 15,290 18,514 23,184
Kagoshima Prefecture 18,728 27,604 32,497 41,326
Okinawa Prefecture 13,384 20,532 23,848 29,399
* Since the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business did not set out any provisions regarding the number of contracts for broadband services by prefecture, MIC did not tally the information before the end of December 2004 and at the end of June 2005.
* Rows are shaded for the top three prefectures in descending order of the number of contracts.


Number of Contracts for DSL Access Services by Prefecture
(as of the end of March 2006)

  DSL
  End of Mar. 2005 End of Sept. 2005 End of Dec. 2005 End of Mar. 2006
13,675,840 14,305,521 14,480,958 14,517,859
Hokkaido 516,440 540,783 550,252 556,020
Aomori Prefecture 110,413 120,086 123,541 126,063
Iwate Prefecture 104,304 112,169 115,715 118,407
Miyagi Prefecture 234,099 246,424 248,875 250,487
Akita Prefecture 88,934 93,909 96,011 97,763
Yamagata Prefecture 105,182 111,636 113,880 116,642
Fukushima Prefecture 164,806 175,270 179,200 181,891
Ibaraki Prefecture 303,100 326,276 334,810 340,815
Tochigi Prefecture 181,896 196,770 201,987 205,068
Gunma Prefecture 210,505 227,782 234,555 240,528
Saitama Prefecture 845,948 874,032 880,553 882,281
Chiba Prefecture 732,942 755,740 762,063 762,828
Tokyo 2,064,500 2,080,182 2,114,202 2,087,132
Kanagawa Prefecture 1,258,340 1,305,444 1,293,856 1,288,226
Niigata Prefecture 221,029 241,304 247,597 252,527
Toyama Prefecture 80,066 84,803 86,091 86,176
Ishikawa Prefecture 108,175 116,026 117,697 117,322
Fukui Prefecture 58,220 61,277 61,976 61,648
Yamanashi Prefecture 86,855 92,273 93,896 94,723
Nagano Prefecture 192,557 211,173 215,574 218,388
Gifu Prefecture 174,986 188,094 192,114 194,149
Shizuoka Prefecture 472,788 506,916 515,900 521,418
Aichi Prefecture 761,899 807,882 819,514 823,675
Mie Prefecture 118,414 127,398 129,144 130,192
Shiga Prefecture 125,964 129,762 131,274 132,349
Kyoto Prefecture 340,604 352,883 354,124 352,708
Osaka Prefecture 1,064,915 1,088,929 1,083,587 1,071,975
Hyogo Prefecture 587,634 607,243 612,036 612,964
Nara Prefecture 162,378 160,682 162,005 163,420
Wakayama Prefecture 86,735 90,277 90,986 91,058
Tottori Prefecture 43,147 47,298 48,694 49,943
Shimane Prefecture 48,156 52,885 54,681 56,197
Okayama Prefecture 175,784 189,715 193,989 195,750
Hiroshima Prefecture 281,219 298,457 302,666 304,533
Yamaguchi Prefecture 106,297 115,639 119,147 121,845
Tokushima Prefecture 62,489 67,721 69,521 70,322
Kagawa Prefecture 95,293 103,135 106,147 108,466
Ehime Prefecture 132,178 141,937 145,003 146,172
Kochi Prefecture 56,254 61,009 62,351 62,951
Fukuoka Prefecture 484,879 510,435 515,058 514,465
Saga Prefecture 48,670 54,109 55,484 56,679
Nagasaki Prefecture 102,469 111,644 114,608 116,351
Kumamoto Prefecture 125,898 136,696 139,717 141,128
Oita Prefecure 76,240 82,961 84,753 84,784
Miyazaki Prefecture 67,416 72,975 74,672 74,815
Kagoshima Prefecture 113,265 125,766 128,998 130,495
Okinawa Prefecture 91,558 99,714 102,454 104,120
* In line with the data announced at the end of March 2006, MIC corrected the number of contracts for DSL access services at the end of September 2005 for Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, and Nara Prefecture, and at the end of December 2005 for Mie Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Nagasaki Prefecture.
* Since the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business did not set out any provisions regarding the number of contracts for broadband services by prefecture, MIC did not tally the information before the end of December 2004 and at the end of June 2005.
* Rows are shaded for the top three prefectures in descending order of the number of contracts.


Number of Contracts for CATV Access Services by Prefecture
(as of the end of March 2006)

  CATV
  End of Mar. 2005 End of Sept. 2005 End of Dec. 2005 End of Mar. 2006
2,959,712 3,121,680 3,236,466 3,309,481
Hokkaido 58,683 63,657 67,026 69,084
Aomori Prefecture 10,509 11,083 11,494 11,634
Iwate Prefecture 7,612 7,828 7,996 8,211
Miyagi Prefecture 22,979 24,529 25,249 25,637
Akita Prefecture 17,307 17,819 18,152 18,501
Yamagata Prefecture 14,594 14,759 15,023 14,852
Fukushima Prefecture 655 696 723 720
Ibaraki Prefecture 26,395 29,395 32,446 34,252
Tochigi Prefecture 37,259 39,911 41,376 42,286
Gunma Prefecture 14,087 14,653 15,014 14,668
Saitama Prefecture 163,654 180,679 188,227 194,161
Chiba Prefecture 136,024 144,408 149,349 152,254
Tokyo 396,751 417,815 429,613 436,513
Kanagawa Prefecture 283,682 299,672 311,760 316,951
Niigata Prefecture 17,676 18,328 18,979 20,268
Toyama Prefecture 64,864 68,224 70,135 71,904
Ishikawa Prefecture 26,207 26,424 26,774 27,551
Fukui Prefecture 46,784 49,783 51,980 52,744
Yamanashi Prefecture 18,124 19,410 19,962 20,478
Nagano Prefecture 73,594 77,793 79,832 81,192
Gifu Prefecture 53,631 58,285 62,525 64,479
Shizuoka Prefecture 67,661 71,122 72,431 72,844
Aichi Prefecture 262,490 279,587 286,149 293,402
Mie Prefecture 148,574 156,501 160,141 163,358
Shiga Prefecture 12,704 14,062 14,217 13,704
Kyoto Prefecture 14,156 14,653 15,013 13,431
Osaka Prefecture 264,217 254,900 277,849 297,031
Hyogo Prefecture 132,547 138,888 142,961 144,887
Nara Prefecture 29,597 32,053 33,090 33,611
Wakayama Prefecture 19,390 20,625 20,952 22,010
Tottori Prefecture 15,728 17,689 18,086 18,260
Shimane Prefecture 15,272 16,886 17,704 18,579
Okayama Prefecture 46,314 48,822 50,062 50,703
Hiroshima Prefecture 26,908 27,162 27,680 27,731
Yamaguchi Prefecture 55,843 61,906 63,805 65,702
Tokushima Prefecture 24,483 25,253 25,247 25,010
Kagawa Prefecture 23,785 24,303 24,828 24,564
Ehime Prefecture 25,578 26,446 27,055 27,812
Kochi Prefecture 9,024 9,319 9,118 8,472
Fukuoka Prefecture 87,415 98,880 102,832 103,652
Saga Prefecture 19,422 21,037 21,688 22,218
Nagasaki Prefecture 32,480 35,138 35,975 36,643
Kumamoto Prefecture 18,877 20,725 21,875 22,655
Oita Prefecure 49,195 52,049 53,512 53,948
Miyazaki Prefecture 37,394 38,118 39,647 39,865
Kagoshima Prefecture 5,422 5,312 5,446 5,654
Okinawa Prefecture 24,165 25,093 25,468 25,395
* In line with the data announced at the end of March 2006, MIC corrected the total and the numbers of contracts at the end of December 2005 for the CATV access services for Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, and Nara Prefecture.
* Since the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business did not set out any provisions regarding the number of contracts for broadband services by prefecture, MIC did not tally the information before the end of December 2004 and at the end of June 2005.
* Rows are shaded for the top three prefectures in descending order of the number of contracts.


Number of Contracts for FWA Access Services by Prefecture
(as of the end of March 2006)

  FWA
  End of Mar. 2005 End of Sept. 2005 End of Dec. 2005 End of Mar. 2006
24,658 21,977 20,230 16,068
Hokkaido 1,675 1,700 2,266 2,279
Aomori Prefecture 60 65 79 85
Iwate Prefecture 31 29 28 27
Miyagi Prefecture 384 429 370 394
Akita Prefecture - - - -
Yamagata Prefecture - - - -
Fukushima Prefecture 1 1 3 3
Ibaraki Prefecture - - - -
Tochigi Prefecture - - - -
Gunma Prefecture 2 1 1 1
Saitama Prefecture 4,512 3,690 3,038 1,932
Chiba Prefecture 3,280 2,821 2,414 1,553
Tokyo 6,574 5,625 4,735 3,296
Kanagawa Prefecture 5,691 4,964 4,323 3,197
Niigata Prefecture 6 5 5 5
Toyama Prefecture 96 149 159 162
Ishikawa Prefecture 44 37 35 42
Fukui Prefecture - - - -
Yamanashi Prefecture 23 24 26 25
Nagano Prefecture 3 2 1 1
Gifu Prefecture 391 541 552 581
Shizuoka Prefecture 106 159 174 160
Aichi Prefecture 104 108 108 99
Mie Prefecture - - 9 18
Shiga Prefecture - - - -
Kyoto Prefecture 22 21 12 12
Osaka Prefecture 219 209 117 105
Hyogo Prefecture 21 17 14 13
Nara Prefecture 93 73 62 61
Wakayama Prefecture 47 40 38 31
Tottori Prefecture - - - -
Shimane Prefecture 98 96 96 93
Okayama Prefecture 721 474 541 741
Hiroshima Prefecture 189 163 155 146
Yamaguchi Prefecture 24 22 23 23
Tokushima Prefecture - 2 69 77
Kagawa Prefecture 14 86 138 171
Ehime Prefecture 12 22 20 25
Kochi Prefecture 48 66 67 68
Fukuoka Prefecture 55 70 137 131
Saga Prefecture - - - -
Nagasaki Prefecture 57 80 87 86
Kumamoto Prefecture 10 38 54 141
Oita Prefecure 2 38 41 40
Miyazaki Prefecture - 20 112 110
Kagoshima Prefecture 23 26 34 33
Okinawa Prefecture 20 64 87 101
* Since the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business did not set out any provisions regarding the number of contracts for broadband services by prefecture, MIC did not tally the information before the end of December 2004 and at the end of June 2005.
* Rows are shaded for the top three prefectures in descending order of the number of contracts.