(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Titus to Offer Internet Link Via Cable TV Network
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July 31, 1998 (TOKYO) -- Titus Communications Corp. will start a service
in October in Kashiwa, Chiba prefecture, to offer access to the Internet
via the company's cable television network.
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Internet connections will be available using a telephone modem or a cable
modem, the company said.
The telephone-modem service will have about the same capacity as a standard
dial-up IP connection, but it uses the telephony service provided through
the Titus CATV network. Customers must pay telephone charges (4.5 yen
per three minutes from 8 am to 7 pm, and charge-free from 7 pm to 8
am) in addition to a flat rate of 3,000 yen (US$20) per month for Internet
access.
The cable-modem service enables access to the Internet at maximum speeds
of 2.5Mbps in the upstream direction and 10Mbps downstream. For individual
customers, the company offers a flat monthly rate of around 5,000 yen
(US$35). However, as IP addresses are allocated dynamically, users will
not be able to send data from a server installed at home, the company
said.
Titus
also plans to start a permanent connection service for small and midsize
businesses, offering the same transmission speeds as for the individual
consumer service. A range of optional services will be available to
business customers, including a virtual private network (VPN) service
and guaranteed bandwidth.
The company said that monthly charges will range from 10,000 yen to 30,000
yen (US$70-US$210) depending on the options selected. This is less expensive
than the monthly rate of 38,000 (US$270) that NTT Corp. charges for
its Open Computer Network (OCN) Economy service.
Titus hopes to provide an Internet connection service via cable television
network in the cities of Abiko, Chiba prefecture, and Sagamihara, Kanagawa
prefecture. With the Internet service starting in Kashiwa, Titus will
become Japan's first cable television operator to offer three services
-- broadcasting, telephony, and Internet access (data communications)
-- on a cable network.
(Nikkei Byte)
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