(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Regional Carriers to Build Next-Generation IP Networks
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February 18, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Ten regional common carriers, including
Tokyo Telecommunication Network Co., Ltd. (TTNet) and Osaka Media Port
Corp. (OMP), announced that they will build networks based on Internet
Protocol (IP).
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The regional carriers represent the third group of domestic Type-1 common
carriers to announce a shift toward backbone infrastructures based on
IP network technology.
Similar moves had been announced by Japan Telecom Co., Ltd. (the PRISM
network service), and by KDD Corp. (the KDD Terabit Highway or KTH21).
The new regional IP network will be called the Powered IP Network (PIN).
The ten regional carriers have already set up an umbrella organization
called Power Nets Japan (PNJ).
PNJ alliance members will collaborate in setting strategies for converting
existing technologies to IP, for constructing next-generation networks
and developing new services.
PIN's key technologies are IP and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
In 2000, the PNJ group carriers will install WDM equipment on the optical-fiber
cable that connects Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and then begin "IP over
WDM" trials.
IP over WDM offers an inexpensive means of constructing broadband IP
networks. That's because it eliminates the synchronous optical network
(SONET) transmission devices needed for the backbone portion in conventional
networks.
The PNJ alliance plans to deploy WDM over an expanded service area in
2001, and to start commercial services based on IP over WDM. By installing
WDM on the optical-fiber cable that runs the length of the Japanese
archipelago, PNJ aims to deliver a bandwidth of 100Gbps.
And by linking their IP networks into PIN, the individual carriers in
the PNJ alliance expect to boost the backbone transmission capacity
for their own Internet access services.
Future ideas may include PIN-based IP telephony services. However, because
decisions about implementing and offering such services are to be made
by each individual carrier, the details of the service menu are not
yet clear. Telecom service fees also are not decided.
It is uncertain how the advent of PIN will benefit consumers. But Japan's
major telecom carriers are making definite moves toward IP-based backbones.
Related stories:
� Japan's KDD to Construct IP-Based Backbone Network
� Japan Telecom, Nihon Cisco Systems to Begin IP Network Trials
� NTT Aims to be Fourth-Generation Carrier, VP Says
(Nikkei
Communications)
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