Too-Much-TV

Japan broadband and communications policy

Yasu Taniwaki, Director, Telecommunications Policy Division, Telecommunications Bureau Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications (MIC), has made two very useful slide packs covering Japan communication policy, and given permission for them to be put online (thank you.)

These are slides Taniwaki-san keeps updated on comms policy he and his colleagues are working on -- a new issue comes up, something changes, he adds a new slide or updates an old one.

The first pack provides a comprehensive overview of communications policy in Japan, from broadband, to NTT reform, NGN and mobile.

Download 080303_bb_policy_in_japaneu.ppt

The second covers some of the same issues, but written for an APEC TEL meeting last week and provides more information on packet shaping (and network neutrality.) 

Download 080326_bb_policy_japanapectel.ppt

It's a rapidly changing story, a new set of guidelines should have been released last week, so these slides will likely change soon.

Both files are 4MB or so.

Japan net traffic

Information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Internet traffic in Japan.  Both are available on the MIC website http://www.soumu.go.jp, but I can't find the links so putting the files here.

The first:
Download JPN-traffic-vol-May07.pdf
is in English and is based on data from May 2007, the second:
Download JPN-traffic-vol-Nov07.pdf
is in Japanese and based on data from November 2007 (Japanese, but if you compare with the earlier English version the changes may make sense).

Good to read these files along side a slide pack made by Yasu Taniwaki, Director, Telecommunications Policy Division, Telecommunications Bureau, MIC. A very comprehensive view of Japanese broadband policy, http://www.mastel.or.id/files/NGN-Seminar/D1-S1_070919%20Taniwaki.pdf
(from September 2007.)

There have been a few developments since last September, importantly these three network neutrality principles have been adopted as official policy (November 2007)

• IP networks should be accessible to users and easy to use, allowing ready access to content and application layers
• IP based networks should be accessible and available to any terminal that meets  relevant technical standards and should support terminal-to-terminal (or "end-to-end") communication.
• Users should be provided with equality of access to telecommunications and platform layers at a reasonable price.

(MIC defines "user" to mean both the individual end user or network subscriber and also content providers and other related companies that conduct business using the Internet.)