In 2000, Japan started to see 640kbps ADSL business service for 60 dollars per month to replace more expensive ISDN dial-up service. However, due to deregulation and competition, the broadband market exceeded 15 million users and over 35% penetration nationwide in only four years. Moreover, the price dropped by half and the speed increased 10 to 100 times. It even stimulated the FTTH market, which including FTTB is gaining users around 100,000 users per month.

This panel focuses on how DSL technology developed to reach such high speeds and how backbone infrastructure was built to pull the cost down to provide such service at an affordable rate. Several technologies will be presented, and the relationship between technologies, deregulation, standardization and deployment will be discussed.

Yoshihiro Obata
Chief Technology Officer
eAccess

Yoshihiro Obata graduated in 1986 from the Master Course in Electrical Engineering from Kyoto University and joined Kokusai Denshin Denwa (currently KDDI). In 1999, he started eAcess as Chief Technology Officer.

Kazuya Matsumoto, General Manager, Development Group, Sumitomo Electric Networks, received his B.S. and M.S. in electronic engineering from Osaka University in 1982 and 1984, respectively. He joined Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. in 1984, where he was engaged in the development of devices and equipment for optical and metallic communications. He is also a former editor of the Spectrum Management Standard in TTC 2001-2004.

Makoto Ninomiya, Associate Manager, Technology Department, NTT East, received his B.E. and M.E. in civil engineering from Waseda University, Tokyo in 1991 and 1993, respectively. He joined NTT in 1993.

Kazunori Sakai, Group Manager, Development Group, NEC Corporation, received his B.S. in electronic engineering from Kyusyu University in 1984. He joined NEC Corporation in 1984, where he is engaged in the development of equipment for metallic communications.