WorldCom to Be First Foreign Firm to Build Phone Network in Tokyo
Bloomberg News
September 10, 1998, 9:11 a.m. ET
WorldCom to Be 1st Foreign Firm to Build Phone Network in Tokyo
Tokyo, Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- WorldCom Inc., the fourth-
largest U.S. long-distance phone carrier, will be the first
foreign telecommunications company to build its own network in
Japan to provide international, local and long-distance phone
service.
The optical fiber network being built by Jackson,
Mississippi-based WorldCom will eventually be able to handle more
than 11 million calls simultaneously, the company said.
''This is a new era in telecommunications in Japan,'' said
Steve Liddell, president of WorldCom Asia Pacific Ltd., on the
day construction of the system began. ''This is a truly historic
moment for WorldCom.''
As it does in 80 cities in 11 countries, WorldCom plans to
target financial institutions, which are expanding particularly
rapidly in Japan as they gear up to take advantage of the
nation's ''Big Bang'' financial reforms.
Service in Japan will begin by the end of November,
providing new competition for Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.,
Japan's former domestic phone monopoly which still dominates the
local market.
Owning its own telecommunications network is important for a
phone carrier in Japan as it can save money due to the high cost
of connecting calls through NTT. Other Japanese domestic phone
carriers, such as DDI Corp. and Japan Telecom Co., are also
trying to reduce their dependence on NTT, the only company that
owns a network reaching homes and businesses throughout the
country.
Liddell refused to say how much it is investing in Japan to
build its network to offer data, voice and Internet services,
although he said it is going to be ''one of the most expensive
fiber bills'' the company has ever paid. It invested $200 million
to build a pan-European network.
WorldCom in March became the first foreign phone company to
win a license to offer services to customers in Japan with its
own facilities. Japan issued the license after signing a World
Trade Organization accord in February opening up the world's
telephone markets.
British Telecommunications Plc also received a license from
Japan to build its own network to provide telecommunications
service.
WorldCom fell 1 3/16 on Tuesday to 47 1/8. NTT rose 10,000
yen to 1.07 million.
--Junko Fujita in the Tokyo newsroom (813) 3201-8950 /re |
