Japan might force NTT to share its new network with competitors

Japan might force NTT to share its new network with competitors

The Japanese government has said that they might force the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to share its new high performance internet network with local competitors as they aim to spruce competition in the market.

NTT is currently developing this network to power the next generation of internet technologies and it is expected to be ready by early 2010s. The government is preparing a regulatory reform draft and they might even get NTT to provide access to payment and identification verification systems on this new network.

NTT spokesman Fumihide Asano spoke on the company’s opinion, which is somewhat neutral at the moment: “We just want them to discuss and come up with rules that are appropriate to this new network system, not those fit for the traditional fixed lines.”

The government in Japan is aiming to encourage mobile virtual network operators in the country, which rents excess network capacity from existing mobile operators to launch their own products and services in the market. This has resulted in massive competition in the markets like the United States and the Japanese government wants it to be replicated in their country.