Softbank Corporation Makes Significant Inroads into the Fixed-line and Wireless Sectors in Japan.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c50926) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report: Japan Telecommunications Market Intelligence Report to their offering.

Market Intelligence Reports provide an invaluable mix of vital market data and background information, including telecommunications regulation.

Japan's telecommunications market is continuing to consolidate as the larger alternative fixed-line, broadband, and wireless operators and service providers seek to usurp the market dominance of NTT and KDDI. Of increasing importance in all market sectors is SOFTBANK Corporation, an Internet company that is making significant inroads into the fixed-line and wireless sectors.

While NTT retains Japans largest public local loop network, serving some 46.911 million fixed-line telephone customers as of March 31, 2006. Nevertheless, it has lost approximately nine million fixed-line customers in the last five years and, although part of the downturn can be attributed to the replacement of traditional telephone lines with alternative forms of access (such as broadband connections and mobile phones), a healthy proportion of customers are clearly migrating to other carriers and service providers, among them KDDI (which has launched a carrier pre-selection service under the national MYLINE scheme as well as a direct access service dubbed Metal Plus). January 2006 saw KDDI acquire Japans largest alternative fixed-line operator, POWEREDCOM (itself an amalgamation of several regional power companies telecommunications businesses). By June 2006, KDDI served 6.78 MYLINE subscribers and 2.223 million Metal Plus subscribers (it is unclear whether this includes any of POWEREDCOMs fixed-line customers).

ISP SOFTBANK is growing aggressively and seems set to become Japans third-largest telecommunications operator by the end of the year, having acquired Japan Telecom in late-2004, Cable & Wireless IDC in February 2005, and cellular operator Vodafone KK in April 2006. With 4.816 million fixed-line subscribers and 15.240 million cellular and 3G subscribers as of June 2006, the company will become a force to be reckoned with once it rolls out a WiMAX-based platform to offer quadruple play services in the near future.

The consolidation should also reduce the number of brands and service plans currently vying for customers and give NTT die-hards greater confidence and more of an incentive to change service providers, as has been witnessed in the cellular/3G market.

The wireless market -- excluding low-capacity personal handyphone system (PHS) offerings -- supported 92.869 million subscribers at the end of June 2006. NTT DoCoMos cellular and 3G offerings accounted for 55.64% of all subscribers at that time (the FOMA-branded 3G service accounted for 28.23%), while KDDIs au cellular and 3G services accounted for 27.95%. SOFTBANK-owned Vodafone KK controlled the remaining 32.23% of the subscriber base at that time.

Each extensive Market Intelligence Report includes the following sections: Economic, Social, Political, and Telecoms Indicators; key data presented in tabular form. Regulation; a summary/overview of the market and regulatory climate, followed by synopses of the regulators powers and other competition or ministerial bodies to which it reports or with which it co-operates. A summary of the regulations in force, a list of differences in the types of available licences and a list of the licences issued. Market Indicators; the available data is presented in tabular form with commentary and graphics. Major Operators; contact data and company information, including ownership, background where relevant for pan-European carriers, licensed activities, scope of activities/services, recent major equipment contracts, summary of network status, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Major Manufacturers; contact data and company information including ownership, background where relevant, manufacturing & distribution activities, recent major equipment contracts, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Industry Associations; contact data and organisation information covering background where relevant, activities/objectives and references to members.

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