The Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications estimates that investment in equipment by the Japanese telecommunications industry in the fiscal year to last month was up 8% on last year, at a total of almost $20,000m; if Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp and Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co are excluded, the figure is reduced to $5,000m, a strong increase of 31.7% over the previous year, and indicating significant investment by the new Type I and Type II carriers as deregulation of the Japanese telecommunications market continues; in particular, investment by the Type I New Common Carriers, which are distinguished from the Type II carriers by their direct licensing of frequencies, is expected to be around $3,900m, reflecting the efforts of the new telephone, pager and mobile service operators to extend their new services around Japan.
