December 25, 2006

Subscription Contract Numbers for Telecommunications Services (as of the end of September 2006)

Pursuant to the provisions of the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business (Ministerial Ordinance of MPT No. 46 of 1988), MIC has compiled the subscription contract numbers for fixed communications, mobile communications, etc. as of the end of September 2006 that were reported by telecommunications carriers.
The results were as follows:
1. Subscriber telephones and ISDN
The total number of subscriber telephones and ISDN as of the end of September 2006 is 56.778 million, decreasing by 4.0% from the same period a year earlier. The number of subscribers to "dry copper" telephone services utilizing metallic cables of NTT East and NTT West has been steadily growing.

2. IP telephony
The number of IP telephone calls as of the end of September 2006 is thirteen million times, showing a continuous upward tendency, an increase of 33.1% from the same period a year earlier. In particular, the number of "0AB ~ J"-IP telephony numbers is some 2.7 million, indicating that about one third of subscribers to FTTH (7.15 million, as of the end of September 2006) are using IP telephony services.

3. Cellular telephones and PHS
The total number of subscription contracts to cellular telephones and PHS as of the end of September 2006 is 98.692 million, showing a steady increase of 5.4% from the same period a year earlier.
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For further information about this press release, please fill in the inquiry form and submit it to MIC on the website
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/contact.html
International Policy Division,
International Affairs Department
Telecommunications Bureau, MIC
TEL: +81-3-5253-5920 / FAX: +81-3-5253-5924