March 18, 2009

Number of Broadband Service Contracts, Etc.
(as of the end of December 2008)

Number of contracts for broadband service breaks 30-million mark
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) compiled the number of contracts for broadband service and other items of information reported by telecommunications carriers as of the end of December 2008, as mandated by the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business (Ministerial Ordinance of MPT No. 46 of 1988), and herein reports the result to the public.

- Major Trends
- Number of contracts for broadband service: 30.11 million
Contracts for broadband service*1 numbered 30.11 million as of the end of December 2008, breaking the 30-million mark for the first time.

- Number of contracts for FTTH: 14.42 million
Contracts for FTTH access service numbered 14.42 million as of the end of December 2008 (a net increase of 0.66 million from the previous quarter), exceeding the number of contracts for DSL access service for three quarters in a row.
With this amendment, areas represented by such area codes will coincide with administrative districts, which will allow people living in the same administrative district to make a telephone call by using numbers without an area code.

Breakdown into individual services
  Total of broadband services FTTH DSL CATV FWA
End of December 2008

30,107,327

(100%)*2

14,417,207

(48%)

11,594,082

(39%)

4,083,072

(14%)

12,966

(0.04%)
<Reference>
End of

29,755,467*3

(100%)

13,756,294

(46%)

11,966,838

(40%)

4,019,497

(14%)

12,838

(0.04%)
September 2008          
Difference
(Net change)

351,860

660,913

-372,756

63,575

128


Notes.
1. The number of contracts for broadband service is the total of those for FTTH access service, DSL access service, CATV access service, and FWA access service.
The FTTH access service connects to a network via an optical fiber line (including VDSL and the like that uses a telephone line partially in collective housing or the like).
The DSL access service connects to a network via a telephone line (metal line).
The CATV access service connects to a network via a CATV line.
FWA access service connects a fixed user terminal to a network by radio.
2. The numbers in parentheses indicate percentages of the individual services within broadband service.
3. The total number of contracts for broadband service and the numbers of contracts for FTTH access service and CATV access service as of the end of September 2008 were corrected and underlined.




+++++++++++++++
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,
Global ICT Strategy Bureau, MIC
TEL: +81 3 5253 5920 / FAX: +81 3 5253 5924