For the community as well, we have very high hopes for the e-government initiative proposed by the IT Strategic Headquarters. If e-government can actually work as an integral part of our daily lives, it will no doubt have positive repercussions for diverse areas. A new community or society based on optical technologies would come into the world. The key is to link with content providers. But that kind of cooperation is pointless unless it is also good business for the providers.
Cooperation grows when a spiral effect is at work.
For example, when the optical infrastructure grows at a certain speed and the possibilities and usefulness of Information Sharing Services are understood, content providers are encouraged and infrastructure performance is fully utilized. Although Internet sharing of diverse digital content is now possible, business rules and interface specifications between systems have not been standardized. This consortium is primarily responsible for setting up architecture models for the creation of new IT industries using optical services. It is introducing the standardization that we need, and that gives it an extremely important role to play in promoting future content. The NTT Group and more than 60 companies including other telecom-munications carriers, content providers, information communications equipment makers and consumer electronic sectors are participating in the consortium.