October 21, 2025 Inquiry to the Information and Communications Council on the Ideal State of Interconnection Policies with consideration of the Changes in the Network Environment

Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has sent an inquiry to the Information and Communications Council (chaired by ENDO Nobuhiro, Executive Advisor of NEC Corporation) on the ideal state of interconnection policies with consideration of the changes in the network environment.

1. Outline of consultation

　The telecommunications market is undergoing rapid technological innovation, and the network environment is changing dramatically. We need to constantly review our interconnection policies, which serve as the foundation for competition in the telecommunications business, in order to adapt them to such changes.

　This also applies to the changes in the network environment for metal fixed-line telephones, such as the significant decrease in the number of subscriptions to metal fixed-line telephones, the completion of the migration from Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to IP networks, and the reduction of metal-line facilities. It is necessary to consider the interconnection rules for metal fixed-line telephones, including the use of the Long-Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) method for calculating access charges.

　With the migration from PSTN to IP networks, the method of inter-carrier voice connection has undergone significant changes. Due to these changes, consideration should be given to adopting the Bill-and-Keep as the primary method of calculating arrangement for the voice interconnection charge. Adopting the Bill-and-Keep should be examined from multiple perspectives, including its advantages and disadvantages.

　With the progress of network virtualization and the increasing adoption of cloud computing systems, the ways in which operators use other parties’ facilities are changing, including the use of key network control functions provided by external operators. In light of these changes, it is necessary to consider rules for opening up networks to external parties. Furthermore, continuous consideration should be given to competition rules in response to changes in the current market environment, including methods for calculating subscribers’ optical fiber access charges.

　Against this background, MIC has sent an inquiry to the Information and Communications Council on connectivity policies in light of changes in the network environment, such as the shift to IP networks, network virtualization, and the increasing adoption of cloud computing systems.

2. Matters that should be included in the report

　(1) How the interconnection rules for voice transmission services should be designed in consideration of the shift to IP and the reduction of metal-line facilities

　(2) How network opening rules should be designed in consideration of the progress of virtualization and the increasing adoption of cloud computing systems

　(3) How competition rules should be designed in consideration of the current market environment changes

3. Preferred timing for reporting

　The partial report is expected around the summer of 2026.