PHS subscribers in Japan exceeded six million at the end of May 1997, less than two years after the start of public PHS service in July 1995. The high-speed data transmission service which started in April will accelerate new subscriptions by opening the door to new applications.

PHS is also being actively introduced around the world. Frequency assignment in China has opened the way for introduction of the PHS system. The telecommunications authorities of South Africa and Australia have allocated frequency bands for PHS, and OFTA in Hong Kong, has officialy approved the PHS indoor system.
Field trials are expanding in various locations, as can be seen in the map. Some trials are for public PHS services, others are for PHS WLL or PHS indoor system. Negotiations for PHS field trials are also underway in a number of other countries.
Public PHS services in Thailand, the first public PHS service to be offered outside of Japan, are under construction, services start in the fourth quarter of this year.