A. New Players in the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sectors 



In fiscal 1993, as in previous years, a significant number of new telecommunications and broadcasting carriers joined their respective sectors (Table 1).  







 Table 1. Principal Communications Carriers 





1. Telecommunications  



As of fiscal 1993 year-end there were 86 Type I telecommunications carriers, an increase of 6 from the previous year. Thirteen carriers began operations during the year: eight regional NTT DoCoMo's, Chugoku Telecommunication Network, Avicom Japan, Telecom Hachinohe, Nagaoka Mobilephone System, and Telenet Enshu. Some restructuring of the telecommunications sector also occurred, with Japan Communications Satellite and Satellite Japan merging to form Japan Satellite Systems, and radio paging operators in the six prefectures of the Tohoku region merging to form Tohoku Telemessage. There were 1,589 Type II telecommunications carriers as of fiscal year-end, a substantial year-on-year increase of 410 companies. 



2. Broadcasting 



Three new television broadcasters, four FM broadcasters, and five community broadcasters (which keep communities informed with such information as local-government announcements and area tourism guides) entered the land-based broadcasting market during fiscal 1993. In satellite broadcasting, four CS broadcasters entered the market, while two CS (IP (BPCM sound broadcasters ceased operations. As of fiscal year-end there were 151 urban cable TV operators, an increase of 10 companies from the previous year.  



B. Business Results 



1. Telecommunications Carriers 



 Type I carriers' results.  The aggregate telecommunications services operating revenues of Type I telecommunications carriers during the first half of fiscal 1993 was (I4 (B3,584.5 billion, a steady increase of 4.9% over the corresponding period of the previous year a sound performance given the nation's sluggish economy. Compared with the other industries (Figure 6), year-on-year increase rates in Type I telecommunications have remained steady since fiscal 1986, and the rate since then has itself increased overall.  



Figure 6. Year-on-Year Changes in Operating Revenues, by industry 





 Facilities investment.  The overall investment in plant and equipment of the nation's 536 telecommunications carriers for fiscal 1992 amounted to (I4 (B2,655.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. Again, a comparison of trends across industries shows telecommunications in a favorable light, with year-on-year investment rates steadily growing (Figure 7).  









Figure 7. Year-on-Year Changes in Facilities Investment, by industry 





2. Broadcasters 



Owing in part to the sluggishness of the overall economy, growth in broadcasters' fiscal 1992 operating revenues exhibited a negative trend. Facilities investment during fiscal 1992 grew 0.2% over the previous year, reaching (I4 (B255.7 billion for the nation's 397 broadcasters, including NHK.  



C. The Info-communications Economy 



The 1991 domestic production value of the info-communications sector was (I4 (B94,315.7 billion and accounted for 10.4% of Japan's gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, whereas Japan's GDP has grown 35.2% since fiscal 1985, the domestic production value of the info-communications sector has expanded 71.9% over the same period.  



	The MPT estimates that its Multimedia Pilot Model Project (Pilot Model Project for New-Generation Communications Network) will generate domestic production that is 2.16 times the project's original investment. In fiscal years 1992 and 1993, Poor Broadcasting Reception Elimination Project Concept in the Sakijima region of Okinawa prefecture (part of the Project for Minimizing Differentials in Telecommunications Benefits) generated domestic production that amounted to 2.08 times the original investment in the project (Table 2).