Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp is following hot on the heels of Japan Telecom (CI No 3,257) by announcing that it too will partner with IBM Corp to launch a secure data communications service for corporate customers, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The service will adopt the TCP/IP standard used for internet communications and software developed by IBM will control access to the network, with users connecting via ISDN lines or personal handyphone systems terminals. It will be targeted at home-based employees seeking to exchange data with company offices, and to marketing staff relaying data from remote locations. NTT plans to set up access points in major cities across Japan by next spring. Rates for the service have not yet been determined.
