TOKYO, JAPAN, 1998 FEB 27 (NB) -- By Martyn Williams, Newsbytes.
Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications announced today that
it has approved an application by WorldCom Japan Ltd., a subsidiary
of WorldCom Inc. [NASDAQ:WCOM], for a Type-I carrier license. The
approval makes WorldCom Japan the first all-foreign owned Type-I
carrier in Japan.
As a Type-I carrier, the company is able to own its own infrastructure,such as transmission lines and switches. Japanese regulations,recently lifted as part of an agreement with the World Trade Organization (WTO), previously restricted 100 percent foreign owned companies from becoming Type-I carriers.
Other foreign carriers operating in Japan have Type-II licenses, under which they must lease capacity from other, Type-I carriers. WorldCom has been offering its managed frame relay service in Japan since 1994,under such a license.
The Telecommunications Council approved WorldCom's application for
the license. The MPT said its related approval will be accorded on
March 2, from which time WorldCom will be able to start operating
in Japan.
In its license application, WorldCom said it will be offering
telephony, dedicated liens, digital data transmission and other
associated services in the central Tokyo areas of Chiyoda-ku, Chuo-ku,Minato-ku, Shinagawa-ku and Shinjuku-ku. It's main targets will be
multinational companies and large businesses.
Newsbytes understands the company also plans to expand its service
to other major business locations, and other cities, in the future.
WorldCom has grown to become a major force in the US
telecommunications market through acquisitions, or planned
acquisitions, that include MCI, Brooks Fiber, CompuServe Network
Services, ANS and UUNet.
In addition to WorldCom's plans for its own network in Japan, Canada's TeleGlobe and BT-NIS, a joint venture of British Telecom and Japan's NIS, have also applied for Type-I licenses and plan to build networks in Japan. |
