December 2, 2020 Results of Appeal for Opinions on Draft Ministerial Ordinance, Etc. for Partial Revisions to Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Act

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) made an appeal for a draft ministerial ordinance and notice from Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 29, 2020, for revisions to the Ministerial Ordinance for Partial Revision of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Act. As a result, no opinions were submitted. However, no opinions were submitted.
In this connection, MIC has today received a report from the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council in response to MIC’s inquiry (No. 31312 on September 28, 2020) on the draft ministerial ordinance, etc.
Considering the results of the appeal for opinions and the report, MIC will promptly revise the Ministerial Ordinance for Partial Revision of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Act and relevant institutions.

1. Background

The facilities of the public switched telephone network (hereafter referred to as “PSTN”) currently used for the telephone services of Telephone East Corporation and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (hereafter referred to as “NTT East/West”) will reach the maintenance limit around 2025. NTT East/West is planning to gradually shift from the PSTN to an IP network from January 2021. Therefore, in April 2020, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications consulted with the Information and Communication Council on an ideal connection system based on the stage of transition to the IP network. On September 18, 2020, the Information and Communication Council drafted a partial report on an ideal connection system based on the stage of transition to the IP network―organizing policies for starting IP interconnections. Considering this, MIC recently drafted the revisions to the relevant ministerial ordinance, etc., to establish the necessary rules in the process of transition to the IP network for an ideal way of voice interconnection charges (interconnection charges for optical IP phones).

Furthermore, the Information and Communication Council issued a final report on December 17, 2019, on assessing the state of competition in the telecommunications business field. Based on the report, MIC’s Study Group on Calculation of Interconnection Charges started studying in the same month a mechanism for appropriately grasping the actual conditions of providing wholesale telecommunications services using type I designated telecommunications equipment or type II designated telecommunications equipment. On September 17, 2020, the Study Group on Calculation of Interconnection Charges issued the fourth report. From the perspective of steadily grasping the actual situation of optical service wholesale^*1, MIC is currently receiving notifications from more than 500,000 lines of optical service wholesalers under Article 25-7, Item 4 of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Act. The report showed an idea of requesting notifications from NTT East/West for all wholesalers. With consideration of this, in addition to the above-mentioned institutional development, MIC drafted the ministerial ordinance and notice regarding the enhancement of the notification system for wholesalers of optical services.

• *1.
  Wholesale telecommunications services provided by NTT East/West to telecommunications carriers providing FTTH access services to a large number of general users.

2. Report and results of appeal for opinions

MIC sent an inquiry (No. 31312 on September 28, 2020) to the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council about revisions to the Ministerial Ordinance for Partial Revision of the Regulations for Enforcement of the Telecommunications Business Act.
MIC made an appeal for opinions from Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 29, 2020, on the draft ministerial ordinance, etc., related to the partial revision (including matters other than those consulted with the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council). However, no opinions were submitted. Furthermore, as a result of the appeal for opinions, MIC received a report from the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council stating its approval as inquired to partial revisions.

3. Future plans

Considering the results of the appeal for opinions and the report from the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council, MIC will promptly revise the ministerial ordinance, etc.