That brings us to Japan. When the first stage of telecommunications reform began in 1985, there was a glimmer of hope that U.S. and other foreign companies would actually be allowed to compete in Japan on a fair and equal basis. That hope was short-lived, however, as it quickly became clear that regulatory restrictions would continue to hamper the development of a competitive market and prevent the entry of U.S. and other foreign firms into the Japanese market on a competitive basis. That is why the U.S. is seeking to extend the bilateral telecommunications procurement agreement. Currently, the equipment market is dominated by NTT, which in turn determines what technology is or is not made available to its users and competitors - and at what price.
Users pay the price.
These distortions hurt consumers, business users, and competitive service providers and are hampering Japan's ability to enter the networked information age. Contrast Japan's experience with that of the U.S. since the early 1980's, as telecommunications reform moved rapidly ahead. Deregulation and increased competition in the U.S. have acted as a catalyst for technological advances. The increased use of efficient fiber optic cables and of digital electronic switching which have led to services such as call waiting, paging, caller ID, etc., are examples. New industries have sprung up to take advantage of these and other innovations.