PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES FOR NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (NTT West) will voluntarily adopt new procurement procedures in light of the remarkable changes now occurring in the telecommunications market. To meet the increasingly diverse and demanding needs of its customers, NTT West is set to engage in timely procurement and to expand its new business services by flexibly accepting business proposals from suppliers.

In this respect, NTT West will apply its new procurement procedures on a speedy, flexible and efficient basis, in addition to the open, fair and nondiscriminatory policy taken by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) prior to its Reorganization.

NTT West's basic policy for procurement and procurement procedures is outlined below:

1. Basic Policy for Procurement

NTT West will:
	1)	Conduct its procurement in an open and transparent manner, taking into account its business needs,
	2)	Provide non-discriminatory and competitive opportunities to both domestic and foreign suppliers and
	3)	Conduct global and market-driven procurement of competitive products that meet its business needs.

2. Procurement Process

Procurement procedures regarding public telecommunications equipment for domestic services consist of the following basic procurement processes:
	(1)	RFP (Request for Proposal) Process: NTT West procures the product by requesting proposals from suppliers.
	(2)	Supplier's Proposal Process: NTT West procures the product based on proposals by suppliers.
	(3)	Follow-on Purchase Process: NTT West purchases the product or additional units of the product from suppliers qualified through the RFP Process or Supplier's Proposal Process.

3. Establishment of Contact Points for Procurement

NTT West will establish contact points to handle procurement-related comments and complaints from suppliers.

4. Provision of Relevant Information Concerning Procurement

In addition to 1) Basic policy for procurement, 2) Procurement procedures, and 3) the Contact points for procurement, NTT West will provide information on RFP and other information that will improve the efficiency of its procurement.

Outlines will be announced on the procurement website (http://ontime.ntt.co.jp), and detailed brochures will be provided for suppliers as soon as they are available.

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