(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| NTT Sat Com to Launch Speedy Internet Access Service
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January 22, 1999 (TOKYO) -- NTT Satellite Communications Inc. announced
that it will offer a new satellite Internet access service called Mega
Wave from Jan. 25.
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The service will allow customers to receive information at data transmission
speeds of up to 1Mbps, for a 4,000 yen (US$35) monthly charge.
The Mega Wave service will appeal to individual users who often download
files and video clips containing large volumes of data. When users are
sending data upstream, an ordinary Internet service provider (ISP) is
used.
Some cable television (CATV) Internet access services already offer 1Mbps
Internet access for less than 10,000 yen (US$88) a month. However, the
main drawback is that to be able to utilize these services, users must
reside in the service area of one of the CATV companies. With Mega Wave,
users can live or work anywhere, as long as they are capable of receiving
signals from a communications satellite.
NTT Satellite's Mega Wave service will be the third such service offering
satellite Internet access in Japan, following Direct Internet and Bekkoame
Spacenet. Also, it will be less expensive than the 5,500 yen (US$48)
monthly fee charged by Direct Internet.
For customers seeking to watch satellite TV broadcasts, another advantage
is that Mega Wave can be used with a CS antenna. A single CS antenna
can be shared to receive both Internet data from Mega Wave and satellite
TV broadcasts from Sky PerfecTV!
In order to use the Mega Wave service, customers must have a CS antenna
for Sky PerfecTV!, a CS tuner, and a dedicated Mega Wave receiver board.
Those who subscribe to Sky PerfecTV! can utilize their existing antenna
and tuner.
The dedicated Mega Wave receiver board will not be put on sale in stores
at first, but will only be available by mail order from the service's
homepage.
Also, it is necessary for users to install a special driver software
for the receiver board in their PCs. The driver controls the flow of
data traffic, routing upstream data to the ordinary ISP and collecting
downstream data via Mega Wave.
Any ISP can be used for sending data upstream. However, if customers
opt for one of the official providers designated by NTT Satellite, they
can call the same user support service with questions regarding both
Mega Wave and the ISP. In such a case, if they encounter a data transmission
problem in either the upstream or downstream directions, NTT Satellite
will deal with it.
NTT Satellite will run a special promotion campaign until the end of
February, allowing new users to try the service for free, without paying
the usual fee of 4,000 yen a month.
In August, the billing system is scheduled to be altered again, to offer
customers a choice of either paying fixed monthly fees or paying a basic
fee with extra surcharges that depend on actual use of the service.
NTT Satellite is studying ISPs that offer a variety of billing menus
tailored to suit customer usage. NTT Satellite also aims to offer its
customers a variety of menus.
Related story: More
Businesses in Japan Use Satellites to Tap Internet
(Nikkei
Communications)
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