March 29, 2024 Result of Solicitation for Opinions on the Proposed Revisions to the “Guidelines on Application of the Telecommunications Business Act and Radio Act related to MVNO,” Revision of the Guidelines, and Request to Carriers installing the Category II Designated Telecommunications Facilities

 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) solicited opinions for the proposed revision of the “Guidelines on Application of the Telecommunications Business Act and Radio Act related to MVNO” from Thursday, February 22 to Friday, March 22, 2024.
 As a result, three opinions were submitted, and MIC discloses the submitted opinions and MIC’s views on those opinions, to the public, along with the finalized guidelines.
 In conjunction with this, MIC requested that NTT DOCOMO, Inc. (headed by II Motoyuki), KDDI Corporation (headed by TAKAHASHI Makoto), Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company (headed by SUGA Takashi), UQ Communications Inc. (headed by TAKEZAWA Hiroshi), SoftBank Corp. (headed by MIYAKAWA Junichi), and Wireless City Planning Inc. (headed by MIYAKAWA Junichi) take measures to review cost allocation between voice transmission and data transmission services when calculating the cost of mobile interconnection charges.

1. Overview

 MIC organized the Study Group on Calculation of Interconnection Charges, etc. * in March 2017, which has been deliberating on the current interconnection system, which is the basis for ensuring fair competition, and other matters for providing various services smoothly in a fair competition environment.
 In its seventh report (published on Wednesday, September 6, 2023), the study group pointed out that each company has a different approach to cost allocation between voice transmission and data transmission services when calculating the cost of mobile interconnection charges. In light of the above, MIC organized the “Working Group on Cost Allocation for Mobile Interconnection Charges” under this study group to intensively study the approaches to cost allocation between voice transmission and data transmission services in connection accounting, with the aim of improving the appropriateness of mobile interconnection charges.
 Based on the deliberation results of the Working Group, MIC has prepared a proposed revision of the “Guidelines on Application of the Telecommunications Business Act and Radio Act related to MVNO” in order to make necessary improvements.
 MIC made an appeal for opinions from Thursday, February 22 to Friday, March 22, 2024, on the draft revision of the Guidelines, and received three opinions.
 Based on the results of the solicitation for opinions, MIC has today revised the guidelines and requested NTT DOCOMO, Inc., KDDI Corporation, Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company, UQ Communications Inc., SoftBank Corp., and Wireless City Planning Inc., which install Category II designated telecommunications facilities, to take measures to review the cost allocation between voice transmission and data transmission services when calculating the cost of mobile interconnection charges.
 * The name was changed from the Study Group on Calculation of Interconnection Charges in December 2019.

•  *
  The published materials are in Japanese only.