FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Global Information Sharing Business in the 21st Century | ||||||||||||
Introduction: In 1996, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) announced "NTT's Basic Plan toward the Multimedia Age." Since then, our company has been promoting the R&D program to develop information sharing businesses, and as a consequence, three specific needs have become evident. Simultaneously, the future direction of global information sharing is also becoming apparent. As things stand, I will disclose how NTT foresees the future course of global information sharing and conducts the R&D programs.
The digitalization of NTT networks was completed at the end of last year. The PC's connected to the networks are now mainly employed for business users and going to spread into household users. For instance, analogue records have been replaced by CDs for nearly 10 years. Nevertheless, such newspaper and music contents are not yet being shared through networks but are still being sold as packaged products such as CDs. The digitalization of movie and broadcast contents is yet to come. CS broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting scheduled for early in the 21st century will facilitate digitalization of contents. Furthermore, as the digitalization of contents progresses and user terminals become as easy to use as TVs, large amounts of digital contents are expected to be shared through networks.
There are three major waves in the process of development of global information sharing.
2-1. First Wave: Digitalization of Broadcasting and Network TVs
2-2. Second Wave: Sharing of the Mass Media Contents through Networks
2-3. Third Wave: Personal Information Provider from SOHOs and Households
These devices for "convenience," "security" and "speed" will expand business opportunities for company users in a variety of fields, as well as for personal users. Through the networks, it will be possible for users to retrieve the products they want, and for companies to create advertisements according to user needs and preferences. As users can give orders to the advertising companies directly, new business opportunities will be created for the distribution, manufacturing and transportation industries. Global information sharing will create business opportunities in a variety of industries including mass media, finance, communication, broadcasting and household electronics. These will become the waves of the information sharing businesses.
The information sharing businesses will consist of the four layers, namely contents, information sharing platform, networks, and terminals. Regarding contents, the Internet now carries a large volume of corporate and administrative contents for public relations. The volume of mass media contents, such as music and publication, is expected to increase rapidly for a greater number of viewers. The information sharing platform will provide common-function services of information sharing businesses, such as database retrieving services for current market information and academic information, and network advertising and marketing services. This is called the "information sharing platform service." The service provided with networks will change from a best-effort service like the present Internet to the so-called "mega media," a high-speed network service with "band-width" guarantee. As for terminals, although personal computers were targeted only for business users, new terminals will emerge offering easy use to people of all ages, including children and seniors. It will be important to develop not only hardware technologies such as downsizing and energy saving, but also software that can achieve easy-to-use interface.
By the beginning of the year 2000, NTT plans to provide network services at 6 Mb/s so that software can be downloaded at high speeds while music and sports can be enjoyed on the network. NTT is also facilitating its R&D activities to realize network services at 10 Mb/s that will enable both-way transmission of moving images at a cost of about 10,000 yen per month by the year 2005.
It is an essential condition of information sharing services that anyone can easily use not only personal computers but also all terminals in households. NTT, in cooperation with companies in the household electronic appliance industry, will develop communications services for home networks and network television so that information sharing services can be received through any terminals. At the same time, NTT will provide information sharing platform services such as network advertising and electronic settlement to content providers so that network television will become popular and electronic commerce can be activated. The next step will be a media bazaar service to share mass media contents. NTT will realize the following services in cooperation with companies in the mass media industry:
When huge volumes of contents have been produced and shared, two functions will become necessary: one is for the producer of the contents to share its work to a wider audience, and the other is for receivers of the contents to be able to retrieve the contents they want. The role of agents implementing these functions will therefore become increasingly important. When information appliances become popular in SOHOs and households, and the wide-band network of mega media becomes widespread, selling and buying of contents through the network will take root and the mega contents sharing age will have arrived. NTT will support SOHOs and households in sending information and selling contents.
In terms of providing global information sharing services, NTT Group will provide its services at two layers of business operations after its reorganization. The first layer is the service provision business offering information sharing services to customers, and the second layer is the resource provision business offering management resources required by the service provision business. Regarding the service provision business, the East and West Regional Companies, Long Distance and International Company, NTT Data, and NTT DoCoMo will provide customers with services such as Business to Business (B to B), Business to Consumer (B to C), and Consumer to Consumer (C to C). Concerning the resource provision business, NTT COMWARE, Telecom Engineering (TE), NTT Facilities, and other companies will conduct operations that support services and networks, including software development and provision, maintenance and operation of network facilities, and the implementation of resource provision business relating to electric facilities and buildings.
After reorganization, NTT will also give feedback of new R&D themes to laboratories of the stock holding company and reorganized companies which are the front line of NTT businesses. R&Ds at the stock holding company constitute particularly important resources for the management of the NTT Group's advanced technologies and know-hows and, at the same time, can be positioned as an essential springboard for new business operations of the entire NTT Group. Under the new R&D programs, NTT will conduct timely and well-balanced R&D of key systems and technologies in terms of four layers of information sharing, i.e., contents, platforms, networks, and terminals.
Building a Global Information Sharing Business for the 21st Century | ||||||||||||
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