Editorial Board March 2004, Volume 2, Number 3

Laboratory Group Strategies
Broadband and our Network Style
Ryuichi Yasuhara
Executive Director of NTT Cyber Communications Laboratory Group
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry ofPublic Management, Home Affairs, Posts andTelecommunications in November 2003, there were
13.234 million broadband users in Japan at that time
(DSL: 9.991 million; FTTH: 815,000; CATV: 2.428
million). At the end of December, DSL connections
passed the 10 million mark for the first time (10.27million). The penetration rate of broadband connections in Japanese households is 28%.
In keeping with this rapid popularization of broadband Internet, our lifestyles are also changing dramatically. In the past, we connected to the Internet
only when it was necessary, but now we can start up
our PC as soon as we get home, and the Internet is“always on.” Besides the broad bandwidth of theseconnections, constant access and flat-rate tariffs arealso significant factors.
One example of this new usage style is a “dual-purpose screen” that provides both TV and PC functions.
A user watching a TV program might open a PC window to search the Internet for extra details aboutsomething that appeared in the TV program. A user
who find the TV program uninteresting might utilize
the screen for Internet access. In the case of digital
TV broadcasts, additional information related to theTV program is transmitted to the receiver in the formof a data broadcast, and users can switch freely
between the TV and PC functions depending on theirrequirements.
Recently, e-commerce and shopping services formaking purchases on the Internet have begun inearnest. It has become quite common to make ticket
and hotel reservations or to purchase airline tickets
and other service products over the Internet. The purchasing activities themselves do not involve pamphlets and other physical advertising media; instead,the user generally searches for the least expensive
product using price comparison sites on the Internet
or by checking bulletin boards for personal evaluations of products to focus in on the desired item.
Another common route is to find products on “auc-tion sites,” where inexpensive items can be purchased
in an enjoyable atmosphere.
Whenever broadband is discussed, there is a tendency to think about video content transmission,
video conferencing, and other broadband applications, but actually services with practical merits suchas information searches and purchasing support will
become the true driving force behind broadband
applications. These services are not provided in a
fixed format, but are refined through repeated use tomeet the needs of users.
The mission of the NTT Cyber Communications
Laboratory Group is to create new services for thebroadband era and develop technologies that will
enable differentiation from existing services. Thus,
besides developing video encryption and voice/audio
processing etc., we must provide information processing technologies that allow intelligent searchingfor information and support the editing, summarizing, and tabulation of information. We collaborate
with users to develop services that reflect their needs.

n Editorial supervison
Masao Kawachi

Ryuji Kubozono
Kimihiro Tajiman Editors
Tsugumichi Shibata
Minako Sawaki
Toru Sadakata
Minoru Ida
Hideyuki Iwata
Hidenori Okuda
Junichi Nakagawa
Shin-ichi Takatan Editor-in-Chief
Masato Wada, TTA
n Associate Editor-in-Chief
Kenichi Fukuda, TTAn English revision
Richard Hunter, Kurdyla and AssociatesNTT Technical Review
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