1996-020                                                     October 3, 1996

KDD has begun studies on the construction of a large-capacity optical-fiber cable (tentatively referred to as "Japan Information Highway (JIH) Cable") to meet new telecommunication needs such as multimedia that are expected to grow in the future. The cable is designed to interconnect large-capacity international optical-fiber submarine cables in the Asia-Pacific region and connects these international telecommunication networks to the domestic network. Featuring the latest optical cable technology, the cable will be laid in a loop so as to encircle the Japanese archipelago. KDD anticipates operations will begin in 1999.

KDD has also begun a feasibility study on the use of inland transmission circuits with nine domestic power utility-group telecommunication companies* to realize the domestic network hookup.

The plan calls for laying the cable around Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands in the Japanese archipelago and landing it at some 20 domestic locations including Hokkaido and Okinawa. Employing the optical wavelength multiplexing technology with very broadband optical amplifiers developed by KDD's laboratories, the large-capacity optical-fiber submarine cable is expected to have a capacity of more than 100 Gbps (equivalent to some 1.2 million telephone lines) and to be 8,500 km in total length. Since the cable is a loop-shaped network, it is "self-healing," meaning that it has the ability to instantly and automatically restore itself from a failure to ensure a high degree of reliability.

If this vision is realized, the cable will be used as an extremely reliable, large-capacity domestic transmission channel for connecting international communications to the domestic network in the age of global multimedia. It will also mean that international submarine cables including TPC5-CN, SEA-ME-WE3, APCN, R-J-K, and other cables scheduled for construction in the future will be directly connected to one another. As a result, Japan will be able to play a greater role as the communication hub in the Asia-Pacific region to meet international telecommunication needs among the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, Russia, etc.

* Domestic power utility-group telecommunication companies
Tokyo Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (TTNet),
Osaka Media Port Co., Inc. (OMP),
Chubu Telecommunication Co., Inc. (CTC),
Shikoku Information & Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (STNet),
Kyusyu Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (QTNet),
Hokkaido Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (HOTnet),
Chugoku Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (CTNet),
Tohoku Intelligent Telecommunication Co., Inc. (TOHKnet),
Hokuriku Telecommunication Network Co., Inc. (HTNet)