But their rumored 100,000 new ISDN connections each month gave them a powerful incentive to delay, even though Tokyo Metallic and KDD already provide xDSL services in certain areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Oita. Sumitomo, using Centillium chips, has an early lead in the Japanese equipment market, but NEC and the multinationals will be fighting hard for these massive contracts. The Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General has called for the government to reduce its shareholding in NTT, and for NTT itself to sell part of its stake in DoCoMo to raise funds for the new competitive market. Korea and the US each pass one million DSL subs Growth accelerating worldwide Korea Telecom and Hanaro are signing over 100,000 each week in June, according to the Chosun Ilbo, as President Kim Dae Jung leads Korea into a new era riding the high-speed information highway. He sees the internet as crucial to prosperity and education, and has inspired rapid growth, looking to surpass two million hookups this year.
Suppliers worldwide confirm the Korean growth, and are fighting for the market.
The million mark was reached in the US last month as well, and demand is clearly there to pass three million at the end of the year, as the companies have forecast. Smart people throughout the industry are working very hard to solve the field problems that have held back US growth. It's smart business for them, because their remote terminals are one of the key technologies that can solve the problem. DSL Prime urges the industry to gather support for universal delivery, which is strongly backed by both FCC Commissioner Bill Kennard and Republican Congressional leader Billy Tauzin, otherwise in profound disagreement. That requires educating the providers on the favorable economics and effectively directing the political pressure.