"Examination Team for New Radio Usage Vision" Starts Work
1.Purpose
With the development of new frequency usage systems and services, newly utilizations of radio frequencies at such levels as the transmission of information by local communities are expected to contribute to the solutions of such problems as regional revitalization. On the other hand, since frequencies are a limited resource, it will be necessary to promote newly effective frequency usages such as the white space usage to ensure that such a limited resource, frequencies, serve to increase people's convenience. In addition, such newly effective frequency usages are expected to contribute to the realization of domestic demand-leading economic growth through creating new industries and employment.
With these prospects, since December 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has held a Round-Table Conference, titled "Examination Team for New Radio Usage Vision," for initiating studies on such newly effective frequency usages as white space usage.
The Examination team will look into directions for newly effective frequency usages, from the perspectives outlined above, and plans to formulate concrete proposals for their realization.
2.Contents of Examination
Examination will be carried out on the topics below, for the realization of newly effective frequency usages as they tie in to increased convenience for the people, while taking into consideration the latest technological trends and overseas trends.
- Examines the building of usage models in anticipation of the rapid realization of the usage of white space that will create frequencies that can be newly used, as well as examines system and technology related issues.
- Examines system and technology issues related to directions and realization of new frequency usage that will contribute to the solving of various problems in today's society such as regional revitalization.
- Others
3.Investigation organization
The team is made up of the State secretary for Internal Affairs and Communications and various experts in the field.
4.Schedule
The first meeting was held on December 2, 2009 at MIC, and the target is for the proposals to be submitted in July 2010.
Figures and Estimates for Japan's Broadband Subscription Numbers and Internet Traffic
Trends in the number of broadband subscriptions
The number of subscriptions to broadband services (*3) at the end of June 2009, as announced in September 2009 (*4), was 30.93 million. The figure stood at 30.33 million at the end of March 2009, and there was an increase of 600,000 over the previous term (Figure 1).
In addition, the number of FTTH access subscriptions at the end of June 2009 stood at 15.89 million (an increase of 870,000 over the previous term), accounting for over 50% of the broadband service total for the first time.
Total volume of download traffic by broadband subscribers
MIC announced in August 2009 figures and estimates (*5) for Japan's Internet traffic as of May 2009. Types of traffic as calculated by cooperating ISPs and researchers are shown in Figure 2. As of May 2009, the proportion of traffic (B1 out) from cooperating ISPs within traffic exchanged (C) at Japan's main Internet exchanges (IX) (*6) was 40.6%, and this was assumed to be the share of cooperating ISPs within Japan's broadband subscriptions as a whole. The total estimated volume of download traffic by broadband subscribers from this share and from the download traffic (A1 out) by broadband subscribers to cooperating ISPs (*7) averaged at 1.23 Tbps (*8) (Figure 3). In comparison to the estimated index as of May 2008, this shows an increase of 1.4 times.
In addition, the total volume of download traffic, plus the total volume of upload traffic that was obtained using the same method were divided by the number of broadband subscriptions (*9) that are collected and announced by MIC, based on the Rules of Reporting on Telecommunications Business, to give an average traffic figure per subscription. Since 2006, the rate of increase in average traffic per subscription has picked up pace considerably.
*1: Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), NTT Communications, K-Opticom, KDDI, Softbank BB, Softbank Telecom make up the 6 ISPs running 7 networks
*2: Professor ESAKI Hiroshi, University of Tokyo, Professor KATO Akira, Keio University, Senior Researcher CHO Kenjiro, IIJ, and Associate Professor FUKUDA Kensuke, National Institute of Informatics
*3: MIC press release of September 18, 2009: Number of Broadband Service Contracts, Etc. (as of the end of June 2009) http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000039345.pdf (Japanese only)
*4: FTTH access services, DSL access services, CATV access services, FWA access services, and BWA access services
*5: MIC press release of August 6, 2009: Figures and Estimates for Japan's Internet Traffic - Announcements of calculation results as of May 2009 (http://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/17309.html (Japanese only))
*6: JPIX which is operated by the Japan Internet Exchange Co. Ltd., JPNAP which is operated by Internet Multifeed Co., NSPIXP which is operated by the WIDE Project
*7: Subscribers to FTTH and DSL
*8: If converted to rewritable DVD medium (4.7GB), this would equal approximately 2.8 million discs a day in volume
*9: The number of broadband subscriptions in May and November, which is when traffic is calculated, was estimated from the proportion of increase in March to June, and September to December. The number of broadband subscriptions as of May 2009 was estimated from the proportion of increase in December 2008 and March 2009