Government & Policy
MPT to create
CATV-telephone network
In February, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications will launch a
series of wide-area CATV telephone trials. This is the first initiative
of its kind in Japan; the ultimate objective is to create a network that
will rival NTT's local lines. The ministry initially will lay a network
linking Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kofu (Yamanashi ) with the aim of creating
a system that can enter commercial service by 1999. Actual operation of
the trial system will be handled by the Telecommunications Advancement Organization
of Japan, a ministry-approved body. The existing networks of three CATV
stations will be used. The ministry has set aside a first-year budget of
¥1.8 billion for the project.
Subcommittee calls for
digital information storage
According to a November report issued by the subcommittee on advanced information-communications
society of the Economic Council (an advisory panel to the prime minister),
Japan's national government should take measures to speed the introduction
of digital storage of information. The report predicts that development
of Japan's information and telecommunications industries will stimulate
expansion of business in related areas, such as transportation and broadcasting)
and other sectors, such as the printing and industrial machinery industries.
The report goes on to forecast that by 2010, domestic output by Japan's
information and telecommunications industries will reach ¥155 trillion,
nearly triple the current amount. The subcommittee also expects sector employment
to rise from today's approximately 2.5 million to more than 3.8 million.
The report warns, however, that there could be an adverse impact on the
overall job market, as technology increases administrative efficiency and
makes many office workers redundant.
In order to stimulate the digitization of information, the report also recommends
lowering of telecommunications charges, such as through introduction of
flat-rate telephone fees.
JETRO brings firms together
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is brokering a growing number
of partnerships between US venture firms and small- to mid-sized companies
in Japan's information industry. Recently, JETRO brought together Florida-based
Data Depot and KBS of Tokyo. An agreement between the two gives KBS exclusive
Japan sales rights for Data Depot's PC diagnostics software. JETRO also
initiated a partnership between Hitachi Data Network of Tokyo and Visual
Solutions of Massachusetts. JETRO's Europe and US offices expect to initiate
a dozen or more such tie-ups over the next year.
Discussions of the future of NTT
The Deregulation Subcommittee of the Council on Administrative Reform convened
in mid-November has recommended divestiture of NTT simultaneous with efforts
to deregulate Japan's telecommunications market. The group concluded that
it is "impossible to consider deregulation apart from the question
of how NTT, which has a monopoly in regional telephone networks, is structured."
The subcommittee will recommend in its final report that NTT be split into
three regional operating entities which, following NTT's divestiture, will
each be able to develop local, domestic long-distance, and international
operations on its own. This would follow the abolition of current Japanese
regulations segmenting the local, domestic long-distance, and international
segments. The recommendation by the subcommittee, which reports directly
to the Prime Minister's office, is expected to have significant impact on
government deliberations concerning NTT's possible divestiture. The issue
is slated to be decided by April.
The Telecommunications Technology Council, meanwhile began hearings in late
November with four industry bodies on the future of NTT. The chairman of
the Communication Industries Association of Japan (CIAJ) reportedly opposed
the idea of a break-up of NTT, claiming that the government should focus
instead on market deregulation. The head of the Telecom Service Association,
which represents Type-2 carriers, supported the separation of NTT into regional
units, while the head of the Information and Telecommunication Equipment
Constructors Association (representing terminal manufacturers) suggested
that NTT specialize in development and consulting while withdrawing from
sales. The head of the National Consumers Federation, meanwhile, declined
to take a position, saying the issue is too difficult to judge.
MITI, EIAJ to develop online
electronics catalog
MITI, in collaboration with the Electronic Industries Association of Japan
(EIAJ), will develop an online electronics catalog. The project aims to
provide information on parts and technical drawings in catalog format to
electronics makers whose databases are to be connected by a network. The
system is expected to allow the companies to procure low-cost parts and
semi-finished goods from around the world. An experimental online system
will start in 1996.
Business Briefs
Nippon Steel to sell
Oracle Application
Nippon Steel and its data communications subsidiary, Enicom, have reached
an agreement with Oracle Japan to sell the Oracle Application open system
as part of the mission critical business systems that they will develop
for customers nationwide. The three firms will form partnerships with IBM
Japan and other hardware vendors to develop and maintain core business systems
that use Oracle Applications; these will include integrated accounting,
production and management, order reception/issuing, and inventory management
systems.
Sony joins the Internet stampede
In November, Sony established Sony Communications Network (SCN). Dedicated
to bringing software, music, entertainment, education, and shopping information
into Japan's homes via the Internet, SCN will start an Internet gateway
service in January, using its vast software resources to provide a fee-based
information stream service to subscribers. SCN hopes to have 100,000 members
within one year, and by April 1997 it will introduce a dedicated home-use
terminal for households without a PC.
Virtual recruiting
Matsushita Electric will begin using the Internet to search for prospective
employees, especially those in technical areas. The company began a World
Wide Web site in October 1995, and it will establish a "help wanted"
section within its pages sometime in 1996. Matsushita intends to switch
to a continuous hiring system, a break from the traditional Japanese model
of hiring new graduates once yearly (in April). Because Matsushita is Japan's
largest consumer electronics manufacturer, the move to revise its hiring
methods seems likely to have significant impact on the overall electronics
industry.
General Magic prepares
to enter Japan market
General Magic of California is opening a Japan office to prepare for entry
into the Japanese market. The company, which markets Magic Cap, an operating
system for personal digital assistants (PDAs), and Telescript, a communications
programming language, will start user support services on the Internet in
1996. General Magic, which has eight Japanese corporate investors, intends
to provide the same customer service in Japan as in the US and may upgrade
its Japan office to a subsidiary next summer.
Coke goes better with PHS
Coca-Cola Japan has announced that it will utilize the new personal handyphone
system (PHS) service to collect inventory data from its vending machines.
Currently, the Coca-Cola group companies are using an ISDN system with some
8,000 machines to collect data. By switching to a PHS system for sales data
collection, monthly operating costs would reportedly be reduced by nearly
90%.
Through an agreement with the NTT Personal group, by spring Coca Cola will
have installed PHS base stations covering several thousand of its vending
machines, including about 1,000 in the Tokyo area. This will enable the
transaction data needed to schedule replenishment of inventories to be transferred
from these machines automatically to the local sales office. The company
hopes to have at least half of its 840,000 vending machines nationwide covered
by a PHS network within two years.
One-number service
coming to Japan
US venture firm Access Line Technologies (ALT), developer of a "one-number"
service that allows a subscriber to have a single number for all its telephone,
facsimile, paging, and other equipment, has entered a deal with NTT and
NTT DoCoMo to create a joint venture company that will offer the service
in Japan from spring. The service distinguishes between fax, telephone,
and other types of calls and routes the connection to the appropriate equipment.
This enables a subscriber to have a single telephone number valid anywhere
in the service area. ALT now provides the service in six nations, including
the US, Canada, and UK, and is said to be working to form a consortium that
would establish the conventions necessary to make worldwide service possible.
AOL will come to Japan
America OnLine (AOL), a US PC communications service, intends to start a
Japanese language service in Japan in mid-1996. AOL will set up a joint
venture with a Japanese partner, and is in negotiations with several candidates.
The new service will allow users access to the Internet and will focus primarily
on home-oriented content rather than business information.
Market Briefs
Companies gear for DVD
drive production
Both Matsushita Electric and Sony are setting up to start mass-production
of digital video disk (DVD) equipment. Matsushita plans to install a new
production line at its optical disk division plant in Osaka and begin video
player production in June. The company expects to release its video players
and DVD drives for PCs in September in Japan and the US. Output capacity
will initially be over 100,000 units per month, growing to over 200,000
units by the end of the year. Sony, meanwhile, plans to start production
of internal DVD drives for PCs in the second half of 1996 at its Chiba-based
Sony-Asco subsidiary. Initial production will be tens of thousands of units
per month. By 1997, Sony might begin production in Malaysia as well.
TDK to boost frequency
filter production
TDK plans to double its production of mobile communications frequency filters
to 2 million units per month by April 1996. The expanding demand for cellular
phones worldwide has created an acute shortage of these filters. TDK intends
to increase production at its facilities in Akita and Yamagata prefectures,
focusing on filters bound for such overseas cellular phone makers as for
Motorola and Nokia, as well as PHS frequency filters for Japan. Plans also
call for establishing a production facility in Europe (possibly in Hungary)
to meet demand from Nokia, EEricsson, and other European companies. TDK
hopes to compete with Murata Manufacturing, which currently holds an over-50%
share of the global frequency filter market.
Toshiba to enter CALS systems arena
In April 1996, Toshiba intends to begin consulting on the development, installation,
and operation of continuous acquisition and lifecycle support (CALS) systems.
Several computer specialists are already in this market, but Toshiba will
become the first of Japan's "universalist" producers to target
this area. Toshiba formed a 30-person CALS working group in August, made
up of staff from its information technology, heavy machinery, and consumer
electronics groups. This group will form the core of the commercial effort.
Ericsson takes the lead
in Japan's digital phone battle
Digital Tu-Ka Hokuriku, a regional digital cellular phone operator funded
by the Digital Phone and Tu-Ka groups, has decided to purchase its switches,
wireless base stations, and other network equipment from Ericsson. Digital
Tu-Ka Hokuriku, scheduled to begin offering commercial services in the summer
of 1997, becomes the third Digital Tu-Ka firm to use Ericsson as a supplier;
two have chosen NEC.
Fujitsu ups stakes in
groupware market
Fujitsu has introduced an enhanced-functionality groupware product. An upgraded
version of its TeamOFFICE groupware, TeamWARE integrates workflow, video-on-demand,
and desktop conferencing features, in addition to conventional e-mail and
schedule management functions. Anticipating that demand for groupware products
will explode as businesses increase investment in information technologies,
the company hopes to win contracts for 9,000 servers and 500,000 clients
in 2 years in Japan, and eventually to obtain a 10% share of the global
groupware market.
Cellular subscription top 7 million
Sales of cellular telephone subscriptions continues to soar. In October,
Japan's subscriber base topped seven million users. New cellular subscriptions
totaled 407,000 in October, down slightly from September. Analysts say that,
at the current pace, the nation's subscriber base will surpass the eight
million user mark by April. So far, the startup of PHS services seems to
have had little impact on the strong growth in the cellular segment.
Lithium ion battery
production expands
Hitachi Maxell is boosting its production capacity for lithium ion batteries
with an eye of becoming a market leader. The company was shipping 250,000
samples monthly in fall 1995, and plans to soon start volume shipment at
3 million units per month. It will invest some ¥4.5 billion in its
Osaka or Kyoto plan by the second half of 1996. Hitachi Maxell's move is
intended to meet growing demand from notebook PC manufacturers and takes
advantage of the short supply lithium ion batteries resulting from a fire
at a Sony plant in early November. Market leader Sony so far has been unable
to resume operations of its main Kooriyama plant.
Meanwhile, A&T Battery (A&TB), a joint venture between Toshiba and
Asahi Chemical, will construct a second lithium ion battery facility in
Gunma Prefecture, at a Toshiba subsidiary's site in Maebashi. The plant
should become fully operational in summer and will have an annual production
capacity of about 1.5 million units, equal to A&TB's current capacity.
NTT's ISDN service reaches
million-channel mark
In late October, NTT reached the million-channel (500,000-line) mark in
subscriptions to its INS-Net ISDN service. The rate of new subscriptions
was boosted in 1995 by DSU (digital service unit) price reductions and growing
use of the Internet. Personal connections, in particular, nearly tripled
over the previous year. INS-Net was launched in 1988.
Office computer shipments
up marginally
According to the Japan Electronics Industry Development Association, first-half
1995 office computer shipments were up a meager 0.7% (to some 58,900 units)
in volume and 4% (to ¥210 billion) in value, the first increase in
five years. Shipments to the financial industry soared 156% (to about 3,250
units), while shipments to public offices and hospitals jumped 59% (to almost
12,000 units). Shipments of mid-range computers (those in the ¥3 to
¥10 million range) increased 19% (to about 15,000 units), but shipments
of low-end units (those priced below ¥3 million) declined 4% (to 40,600).
International News
Fujitsu to start US PC sales
Fujitsu plans to enter the US PC market in 1996. The company has already
developed a notebook computer at its California subsidiary, Fujitsu Personal
Systems, and is in the process of determining sales channels. It will launch
a sales campaign at US trade shows. By entering the US market, which is
four times the size of the Japanese market, Fujitsu hopes to increase economy
of scale in terms of parts procurement and production.
ITJ eyes China market
In March 1996, ITJ will open a representative office in Shanghai. This is
intended to meet the increased demand for international communications between
Japan and China, which is growing in part because of the surge of Japanese
corporate investment in China. ITJ will become the second Japanese international
carrier (after KDD) to open an office in China, and the Shanghai office
will be ITJ's fourth overseas, joining those in New York, London, and Singapore.
Matsushita licenses 3DO technology
Matsushita Electric has reached a basic agreement with 3DO of the US to
acquire 3DO's computer graphics and operating system technologies for the
Japan market. The agreement will make Matsushita the exclusive licenser
of 3DO technology in Japan. Matsushita plans to use the 3DO technology in
its next-generation, 64-bit interactive game players as well as set-top
boxes, arcade games, and computer peripherals.
Softbank to enter China
by way of US
Softbank has agreed to acquire a 30% stake in California-based Unitech Telecom
(UT) for $30 million. UT, a fast-growing cellular telephone and Internet
gateway service provider, is active primarily in the China market (140 of
its 150 employees are Chinese). Softbank, which hopes to eventually sell
software and network equipment in China, decided that teaming up with UT
would help it gain access to China's enormous potential PC market.
Sega to market PC game
software in US
Sega Enterprises plans to move into the US PC game software market by porting
popular 16-bit game machine titles to the Windows 95 PC platform. The first
product was to be introduced in November through US subsidiary Sega of America;
new titles will be sold under the Sega PC brand. Sega's intent is to leverage
its vast software resources in the fast-growing US PC market.
KDD to help create dedicated
Asian Internet
KDD has reached agreement with the leading international telephone carriers
in Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan to create a dedicated Asian Internet network.
KDD will upgrade its 4M-bps link to the US through MCI to a 45M-bps link
when the TransPacific TPC5 cable is completed next year. For the new dedicated
Asian network, KDD plans to offer high-speed dedicated lines at less than
half of current rates. The company has been reluctant until now to move
into the Internet business out of fear that the Internet will compete with
its dedicated line services. The growing need for Internet services in Asia
have led the company to make a significant change in strategy.
Sony, Intel to partner
in home PC market
Sony and Intel have reached a basic agreement on development of a comprehensive
cooperative relationship to create a new consumer products market. Sony
has been marketing IBM-compatible PCs OEMed by Acer and acting as OEM-supplier
of notebook computers to Dell. Sony plans to enter the US home PC market
the fall of 1996, then gradually expand its operations in Japan and Europe.
By integrating its audiovisual (AV) technology with the Intel's computer
technology, Sony hopes to take a leadership role in the home PC market.
In addition to jointly developing and supplying home PCs and other consumer
products as well as semiconductor products, Sony and Intel will also cooperate
in the entertainment contents business.
NEC hopes to set world
standard for game chip sets
NEC and NAMCO will tie up in the Windows 95 game software business. NEC,
which is developing a 3D accelerator chip set with Videologic of the UK,
will supply chip sets to NAMCO from March, and in May NAMCO will release
computer graphics game software that takes advantage of the chip set. NEC
intends to sell the chip set for less than ¥10,000, and will market
it to other PC makers with the aim of making it a world standard. Some 30
firms are expected to release software that utilizes the chip set, and NEC
predicts that at least 2 million PCs will be equipped with the chip set
by Christmas.
US computer magazines --
by way of Japan
In early November, Softbank, Japan's largest software distributor, announced
that it will purchase Ziff-Davis Publishing (the US's largest publisher
of computer and high-tech magazines) for $2.1 billion. Softbank will provide
about 85% of the purchase price, while a holding company set up by Softbank
president Masayoshi Son will provide the remaining 15%. This will bring
Softbank's investments in corporate acquisitions since July 1995 to nearly
¥300 billion ($2.9 billion).
Research & Development
Pioneer develops prototype
recordable DVDs
Pioneer has developed a prototype DVD-R (digital video disk, recordable)
and drive. The prototype drive uses a 635-nm, 30-mW semiconductor laser
to record data once on a 3.8GB DVD-R and achieves a read/write data transfer
speed of 1.3M bps. The company plans to release a commercial model in the
fall of 1996 and will start by producing 100,000 DVD-R drive units per month.
Long-life NiMH batteries
outperform lithium ion
Matsushita Battery has developed a high-energy density nickel metal hydride
(NiMH) battery that reportedly outperforms lithium ion batteries significantly.
The higher energy density means a longer battery life between charges. The
company will produce the HHR350A battery from spring at 1 million units
per month. It will be sold for about half the price of its lithium ion counterpart.
TTC-TrDA reach understanding
on infrared standards
Japan's Telecommunications Technology Council (TTC) and California-based
Infrared Data Association (IrDA) have signed a memorandum of understanding
with to develop joint technical standards for infrared communications. The
TTC was to release a Japanese-language version of IrDA's standards by the
end of 1995 and will work to create a de facto standard. The two organizations
have chosen this method because gaining International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) approval for a standard will take time. Several Japanese firms,
including NTT and NEC, are already IrDA members.
Real-time OS/2 Warp
scheduled for April release
In an attempt to increase its market share by adding functionality not included
in Microsoft's Windows 95, IBM Japan plans an April release of a real-time
version of its OS/2 Warp operating system. Currently under development by
IBM Japan's Yamato Research Center, the OS/2 Warp Real-time Extension will
reportedly be able to execute instruction 4 times faster than conventional
OS/2 Warp. In addition to traditional business applications, the new version
OS is suited to embedded control systems. The real-time extension will feature
enhanced interrupt response and priority scheduling capabilities.
Plans for rewritable CD
production announced
Ricoh was to begin shipping samples of CD-E (compact disc, erasable) early
in 1996, with plans to start volume production in April, making it the first
company to announce specific commercialization plans for CD-E. Ricoh will
supply the discs to drive manufacturers in an attempt to achieve wider acceptance
for CDs as a PC storage device. The company will initially produce up to
20,000 disks per month and raise output to about 100,000 units per month
as the drives become accepted in the market. CD-E disc price is expected
to be about ¥5,000.
Satellite experiments planned
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has drafted a plan for a cooperative
experiment in international super-high-speed satellite communications; the
US, Canada, and several European nations will participate. The experiment
will involve constructing a 156M-bps satellite communications link that
could be used to provide asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and other services
between the participating regions.ç
(c) Copyright 1996 by Computing Japan magazine