Englewood, Colorado-based US West Inc has teamed with DDI Corp of Japan for a joint venture to pursue global communications opportunities, including the provision of roaming service for their cellular telephone customers travelling to Japan and the US: DDI controls seven regional cellular companies in Japan, which have approximately 180,000 customers – but as the phone systems are incompatible, DDI customers planning to visit the US will have to pick up a US West phone at a DDI office before they leave; on returning to Japan, customers will return the phone to DDI and pay all airtime charges incurred during their visit, with the same arrangement in reverse, and the two companies will settle up.
