ICT Policy in Japan - Broadband and Mobile - April 16, 2009 Hiroyuki HISHINUMA Director for New Competition Policy Telecommunications Policy Division Telecommunications Business Department Telecommunications Bureau Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) Japan
ICT Economic Growth (40% Contribution) The contribution rate of the ICT industry in relation to the fluctuation of real GDP is very high. (%) 4 2 0-2 ICT Sector s Contribution to Real GDP Growth 2.3 1.4 1.3 0.6 1.0 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.5-0.6-2.4-2.1-0.3 2.7 2.2 3.1 2.3 2.7 1.7 2.3 1.7 1.6 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.9 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.7 1.0-0.7-0.2 The ICT industry leads approximately 40% of the real GDP growth. -4 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Other sectors ICT sector Real GDP growth rate (Source) 2008 White paper, Information and Communications in Japan ICT policy is important especially in such a situation as the current economic crisis. Broadband is the vital infrastructure for ICT activities. 1
Broadband Services
Progress Status of Broadband Deployment (Unit: 10K contracts) 1,600 1,400 Population: approx. 128 million (Census in Oct. 2008) Households: approx. 50 million (Census in 2005) IP Telephones: approx. 19 million (Sept. 2008) Optical Fibers (FTTH) Number of contracts: 14.42 million Number of carriers: 170 14.42 mil 1,200 1,000 DSL Number of contracts: 11.59 million Number of carriers: 48 11.59 mil 800 FTTH overtakes DSL (June 08) 600 400 Cable Internet Number of contracts: 4.08 million Number of carriers: 381 4.08 mil 200 0 Wireless (FWA) Number of contracts: 0.01 million Number of carriers: 30 0.01 mil Note: Reported numbers compiled by MIC in accordance with the provisions of the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business. (Numbers compiled before the end of March 2004 were reported voluntarily by carriers) 3
Why has FTTH grown in popularity in Japan? 1. Competition Policy 2. Demand for faster broadband 3. Continuous investment by NTT 4. National target 5. Government support 6. Geographical features of Japan, etc. 4
User Charge for ADSL and FTTx DSL 1 + PSTN Maximum 47 Mbps NTT East + NTT Plala DSL 2 + PSTN Maximum 50Mbps Softbank BB + NTT East FTTH + VoIP (Detached house) Maximum 100Mbps NTT East + NTT Plala FTTH + VoIP (Collective house) Maximum 100Mbps NTT East + NTT Plala DSL: 2,520 DSL: 2,938 FTTH: 2,625 ISP: 850 FTTH: 5,460 ISP: 630 VoIP: 500 PSTN: 1,700 (Tokyo) PSTN: 1,700 (Tokyo) 5,070 yen (approx. 38 euros) 4,638 yen (approx. 35 euros) VoIP Router: 450 ISP: 1,050 VoIP: 500 7,010 yen (approx. 53 euros) 4,205 yen (approx. 32 euros) [Source] MIC research on March 31, 2008 5
Interconnection Charge for ADSL and FTTx ADSL The interconnection charge for line sharing, approved by MIC, is only for additional device and line managing costs because the cost of local loop is already paid by users as a basic telephone charge. [Interconnection charge for line sharing: less than 1 euro] NTT bldg SP MDF Telephone Local Switch Telephone network Subscriber s house Splitter DSLAM ISP Additional device = Extra MDF Equipment of competitive DSL operators [Interconnection charge for dry copper: less than 10 euros] FTTx The interconnection charge for FTTx service is for whole access line because the fiber access line is completely new and substitution for current metal access. [Interconnection charge for dark fiber: approximately 35 euros for detached house] 6
Market Share of NTT East and West Share by number of lines Copper, Fiber & CATV lines [March 2008] FTTH [March 2008] Copper lines [March 2008] 91.0% 78.9% 99.8% Share by subscriber ADSL [September 2008] FTTH Service 73.4% [September 2008] Fixed telephone (including ISDN) 36.3% 0AB~J IP Telephone 72.4% [September 2008] WAN Service 36.1% [September 2008] [September 2008] 88.4% (Note ) The figure for 0AB~J IP telephone shows the percentage of numbers held by NTT East and West within the total IP telephony telecommunications numbers (0AB~J) assigned by MIC. [Source] Compiled based on the numbers of lines and contracts in the reports submitted under the Rules for Reporting on Telecommunications Business 7
Fiber unbundling has not affected NTT s Investment in fiber so far (unit: hundred 12,000 million yen) 10,000 Total investment and trend of investment for fiber local loop 8,000 6,000 10,977 7,662 Total investment Investment for fiber local loops 6,966 7,754 7,969 8,851 8,483 8,235 8,650 4,000 2,000 1,490 1,640 2,370 3,330 2,830 3,490 3,560 3,280 3,010 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 The rate of coverage is the average of NTT East and West. The opticalization of access network means the ratio of opticalized feeder points of the all the feeder points. 8
Bridging the Digital Divide in Building Broadband Facilities Broadband Ultra-High-Speed Broadband (FTTH) March 2008 (Current) 98.3% 86.5% FY2010 (Target) Elimination of All Broadband Zero Areas 90% Expansion of the Local Information and Communications Infrastructure Development Grants (ICT Grants) Draw Road Maps of Building Broadband Facilities Improvement of the Use Environment of Satellite Broadband 9
Mobile Communications
(million) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Changes in the Mobile Phone Environment Feb. 2009 Number of subscribers - Mobile phones: Approx. 106,481,700 (83.5%) - Internet connection: Approx. 91,700,000 (71.9%) - IMT-2000: Approx. 97,892,400 (76.7%) Population (estimate) 127,590,000 (March, 2009) 1999 Start i-mode, EZ Web, J Sky Service 1996 1998 2000 Mobile phone with camera 2003 2002 Download music services E-mail with picture/movie services 2007 2005 Flat rate data plan IMT-2000 Internet connection 2009.2 91.9% 86.1% Number of IMT-2000 subscribers Number of Internet connection subscribers Number of mobile phone subscribers 2001 (Start of IMT-2000 service) Mobile phone with GPS Mobile video phone 2004 Osaifu-Keitai (Mobile phone with electronic money 2006 Mobile phone with terrestrial TV Dual mode (IMT-2000+GSM) Mobile Number Portability 11
Penetration of various applications with mobile phone Felica 55.2% GPS 47.7% Digital TV (OneSeg) 35.6% Camera 88.9% Internet Connection 86.1% IMT-2000 91.9% Total Subscribers 106,481,700 units 0 20,000,000 40,000,000 60,000,000 80,000,000 100,000,000 120,000,000 (As of 2009.2) 12
Evolution of Mobile Phone Applications GAME TV Telephone Information Code Broadband Communication Digital TV (1 Seg) W-LAN GPS 2D Barcode, Camera, High-resolution Display Electronic Money Season Ticket Credit Card Bluetooth Infrared Wireless Media Built-in RFID (Felica) 13
Competition policy for mobile communications 1. Mobile number portability 2. Promoting new entries of MVNOs 3. Improving interconnection regulations 14
Interconnection Rules Responsive to Changes in the Telecom Market (1/2) The fixed line broadband market saw FTTH surpassing DSL in their number of subscribers in June 2008. The mobile telephone market now exceeds 100 million subscribers with advanced handsets and is rapidly becoming a key infrastructure in business operations and everyday life in general. Also, Fixed-Mobile Convergence is expected to bloom in the near future. In response to these market changes in the last decade, the Japanese Government launched a comprehensive review of the interconnection policy for securing fair competition in the telecommunications market on February 24, 2009. 15
Interconnection Rules Responsive to Changes in the Telecom Market (2/2) 1. Outline of review items I. Development of fair competition environment in the mobile communications market 1. Verification of current regulations (Unbundling policy, optimal cost for tariff rates, etc.) 2. Effective network infrastructure use (Facility sharing rules & roaming system establishment) II. Development of fair competition environment in the fixed-line broadband market 1. FTTx services 2. DSL services 3. Effective network infrastructure uses III. Development of fair competition environment to boost entry in telecom platform and content distribution markets 1. Opening up telecom platform functions 2. Strengthening dispute settlement function, etc. IV. Policy on interconnection rules in the age of fixed-line and mobile communications integration 1. Issues in tariff rates calculation 2. Policy on future interconnection rules and underlying dominant carrier regulation) 2. Tentative Schedule Feb. 2009: Consultation with the Information and Communications Council July 2009: Invitation for comments on draft recommendations Sep. 2009: Recommendations from the Council (tentative date) 16