PHS Services Started in Japan July 1995 Go Nationwide
PHS services started by NTT Personal group and DDI Pocket Telephone
group from the beginning of July 1995 have gone nationwide, while being
joined by ASTEL group's service.
1. NTT Personal Group
On July 1, 1995, NTT Personal Communications Network group (NTT Personal)
launched its PHS commercial service in the Tokyo metropolitan area and in
the Sapporo (Hokkaido) area.
Since the launching of commercial service, PHS has had a great impact and
the total number of PHS subscribers for the NTT Personal group (Central
and Hokkaido) was approximately 60,000 at the end of September 1995 (Photo
1).
Photo 1. Opening ceremony of NTT's PHS service
NTT Central Personal Communications Network, Inc. has installed approximately
20,000 public cell stations (CSs) in the Tokyo metropolitan area and 5,000
CSs in the Kanto area. NTT Central Personal announced that the number of
CSs was doubled by this October. By the end of March 1996, the number of
CSs will be increased to 70,000 and coverage is to extend to all residential
areas within a 30 km radius of Tokyo.
These CSs are installed in a variety of places such as utility poles, building
walls and roofs, ceilings, public payphone boxes and even "Coca-Cola"
vending machines. The CS is so small and compact that it can be easily accommodated
in a public payphone box (Photo 2).
Photo 2. Cell station in payphone booth
The areas covered not only include the outdoor public environment but
also the indoor environment such as subway stations, hotels, department
stores, leisure facilities, hospitals and universities.
"PALDIO" is the brand-name for NTT Personal's PHS handset. Five
different types of "PALDIO" handsets are now available. "PALDIO-102S"
is in particular enthusiastically welcomed by the Japanese market because
of its extremely compact size. Its specifications are as follow: 95g in
weight, 98 cm3. in volume, 400 hours of waiting time and 5 hours of continuous
talking time (Photo 3).
Photo 3. "PALDIO" handset
The PHS tariff is very affordable. For example, the charge for a local
call (within 3 minutes) is only ¥40, which is just ¥10 more than
the same local call from a regular public telephone. The monthly charge
is ¥2,700, which is one-third to one-fourth that of a cellular telephone
in Japan.
The quality and reliability of PHS equipment as well as the integrity of
the entire system has been proven by three months of basically trouble-free
commercial PHS service.
And now, seven local companies of the NTT Personal group (those other than
NTT Central Personal and NTT Hokkaido Personal Communications Network, Inc.)
launched into commercial service operation, on the beginning of October
1995. At this point, PHS service became a nationwide service.
Along with the expanded coverage, NTT Personal group has a strong intention
of providing a variety of new services, enhancing services for the future,
including those for multimedia application.
