News Release

September 16, 1999


NTT Applies to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
for Approval of a Local Fixed-charge Discount Service
for Internet Use



Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation (NTT East) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (NTT West) have been providing a discount service for schools oriented toward Internet use (the i-school service) on a trial basis since September 1, 1999. Today, NTT East and NTT West applied to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications for approval of a local fixed-charge discount service (the i-ai plan) for Internet use, which will be available to customers in general. We also plan to steadily introduce additional new services to make Internet use more convenient for our customers.

・Local Fixed-charge Discount Service for Internet Use (the i-ai Plan)


(1) Outline

This is a monthly telephone charge discount service. Customers paying a fixed charge each month will be able to make any amount of calls to one predetermined telephone number up to a certain limit, regardless of the day of the week or the time of day, within the Unit Rate area.*

We have prepared two plans, which customers can select based on their use conditions.

* The Unit Rate Area: Areas where the unit charges for use during the "daytime" and "nighttime" time bands are 10 yen for three minutes.


(2) Fees


i-ai Plan 1200 i-ai Plan 3000
Minimum charge (fixed charge) 1,200 yen/month ・ circuit
(limit of 3,000 yen worth of calls per month)*
3,000 yen/month ・ circuit
(limit of 7,500 yen worth of calls per month)*

* With the minimum charge, customers can make the equivalent of 15 hours of calls during daytime and evening under the i-ai Plan 1200 and 37.5 hours of calls under the i-ai Plan 3000.

* Customers will be billed the normal fees for calls beyond the plan limits (10 yen per 3 minutes during daytime and evening, and 10 yen per 4 minutes during the "late night" and "early morning" time bands).

* There are no contract fees or installation fees for the i-ai Plan contracts.



・International Comparison of Internet Use Telecommunications Fees (please refer to the attached charts)

When using the i-ai Plan, the telecommunications fees for Internet use (dial-up connection fees; do not include provider fees) will decline from 2,730 yen to 2,310 yen based on the 20 hours of monthly use model adopted in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications "Price Gap Survey on Telecommunications Services Between Japan and Abroad in FY1998." The fee 2310 yen is very close to the fee level in New York City, where the fees are the lowest among the six major cities covered by the Ministry survey.

The fees charged under the i-ai Plan will also decrease in terms of the average number of hours of monthly Internet use by OCN subscribers (approximately 10 hours) or by subscribers to America Online (AOL) in the United States (approximately 30 hours).


(3) Provision Conditions

(1) Contract coverage (*1) Integrated Service Digital Network (INS-Net 64, INS-Net 64 Lite)
(2) Service provision area Nationwide (areas where services are provided by NTT East and NTT West)
(3) Contract unit Per circuit
(4) Specified telephone number (*2) One telephone number within the local telecommunications area
(5) Time band coverage All time bands (no restrictions by day of the week or time of day)
(6) Discount mode coverage Voice mode and 64kb/s digital telecommunications mode
(7) Fee calculation unit Per month and number of circuits
(8) Other discounts that can be applied simultaneously INS AREA PLUS

*1: The recording of complete telephone numbers called on the detailed billing record is a precondition for the service.

*2: The service is not available for services that require use of the "#" button and other non-standard telephone number services.



(4) Period of Service Provision, Etc.

<1> The service will be initiated promptly after approval is received from the government authorities (the target date is October 1st).

<2> Applications and inquiries will be received via the toll-free number 0120-378160 and 116 (for telephone orders), etc.


(5) Provision of Fixed-charge Discount Services for Subscriber Telephone Use (in addition to INS-Net 64, INS-Net 64 Lite)

NTT East and NTT West are proceeding with preparations to offer customers a fixed-charge discount service for subscriber telephone use similar to the i-ai Plan, and we plan to initiate this service from the summer of 2000.

(Reference) Response to the Needs of Other Telecommunications Carriers Concerning Interconnection

・Concerning interconnection via our ADSL equipment, we announced the network functions in December 1998 and disclosed the interconnection conditions in June 1999. We are presently receiving inquiries from other telecommunications carriers, and intend to move forward with these discussions.

・Regarding MDF (main distributing frame) interconnection accompanying the provision of ADSL services by other telecommunications carriers, we are presently responding to inquiries so that connections will be possible on a trial basis from this December, in accordance with the contents of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications "Report of Interconnection Charge Calculation" (released on July 30, 1999).

・We plan to hold discussions in accordance with the interconnection rules when other telecommunications carriers seek fixed-charge interconnections with our equipment, such as loop-back connections of the switch for ISDN similar to Fixed -Fee IP Connection Service, for the provision of Internet services, etc.



International Comparison of Internet Use Telecommunications Fees (20 hours per month)

International Comparison of Internet Use Telecommunications Fee (10 hours per month)

International Comparison of Internet Use Telecommunications Fees (30 hours per month)






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