Japan’s parliament has revised the law governing Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), the country’s largest telco, in what is being pitched as a bid to enhance its global competitiveness but which is regarded by critics as a threat to domestic telecom service competition.
The move comes amid rapid advancements in the global telecom landscape and growing concerns over Japan’s ability to keep pace with international rivals: NTT’s argument has long been that the law, which came into effect decades ago, before the development of the internet and digital services market, is holding it back from competing with the global cloud services giants. However, NTT’s domestic rivals are concerned that the national operator, already the market leader in fixed and mobile service provision, will be granted greater freedom in the future and become an even more powerful rival.
The revised NTT Law (also referred to as the NTT Act), which was approved by the House of Councilors with support from the ruling bloc, introduces several key changes. Notably, NTT will no longer be obligated to disclose its research results, a requirement that was seen as hindering the company’s competitiveness as it made it difficult for NTT to engage in joint research with partners that didn’t want the R&D outcomes to be publicly disclosed. NTT president and CEO Akira Shimada had previously expressed concerns that the existing regulations were impeding the company’s partnerships and technology push.
