Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp is to reduce leased lines charges from February 1 but is likely to get little relief because the new carriers which are beginning to eat its lunch are expected to follow suit, triggering another round of price competition: this time the drop in charges will apply to high speed digital lines used mainly by large companies; the new common carriers entered the market for long-distance leased lines two and a half years ago, and with the business of the line resellers flourishing, NTT’s share in Tokyo and Osaka is falling three new private telephone companies now share 20% of the telephone business in the Tokyo area.
