Internet Services in Japan
Who Offers What, and How Much Does It Cost?
The last time Computing Japan surveyed the IP (Internet Protocol) service
providers, only four or five companies were actually up and running. Now,
seven months later, that number has more than tripled, with new companies
joining the ranks monthly, and the range of available service options has
grown. Here is another update on this fast-growing industry, with solid
information on services and costs.
by Forest Linton
For the past several months, there has been much confusion concerning the
different levels of Internet connectivity available in Japan - who was
providing what services, how much it cost, and where to get more
information. This month, I'll try to clear up some of that confusion.
The growth of public access Internet services in Japan has been
rapid over the past 20 months. (The first public access site opened in
October 1993.) There are now many Internet service providers, with more
starting up every month. To use some of these providers (some of which
are shown in the accompanying chart, but not listed in the table of
services), it is necessary that you (the end user) be using Japanese
software and operate in kanji. If you are proficient enough in the
language to clear that hurdle, then there is much information about the
Japanese Internet scene available in Japanese periodicals, including at
least two magazines devoted exclusively to the Internet. This service
provider round-up focuses on those companies that would be of most interest
to the English-speaking foreign community.
Types of services
For those who may have missed past issues of Computing
Japan, here is a quick summary of the various types of connections you can
buy to the Internet. The three main types of Internet connections (from
cheapest to most expensive) are dial-up shell accounts, dial-up SLIP/PPP
accounts, and leased lines. The availability and cost of these options, by
company, are listed in the top half of the table on pages 32 and 33.
With a dial-up shell account (sometimes called terminal
emulation), you connect to your Internet provider's server via a
telecommunications program; your computer then acts like a dumb terminal
attached to the server. Although you are typing on your computer, the
actual commands are being executed on the host system. A major limitation
of this type of connection is that you cannot use graphical "point and
click" software. The benefit is that you don't need any software other
than a simple telecommunications program
If you use a dial-up SLIP/PPP account, your computer acts (for as
long as you are dialed up) as though it is connected directly to the
Internet. Instead of serving merely as a dumb terminal, your computer runs
all of the Internet-related software directly. This enables the use of
graphical Web browsers and other GUI (graphical user interface) software
like Fetch, etc. - but you have to buy the programs, or obtain freeware
versions.
A leased line is the best connection for high usage (and the most
expensive, unless you are online for several hours every day). With a
leased line, your server is connected directly to a high-speed, dedicated
digital phone line between your office and your Internet provider. You
are the system administrator, and you can connect any number of computers
to the server. Don't forget that besides the fee for the IP service, you
will be have to pay a monthly leased-line fee as well.
Choosing an Internet provider
Choosing a provider is not an easy task. There are many factors to
consider - price being just one of them. Direct providers get their
Internet feed directly from the US and sell leased
lines or other access direct to companies and individuals. Intermediate
providers re-sell IP from the direct providers, and may or may not also
sell leased lines.
Direct provider. If you are a big company and/or
looking for a high-speed leased line, it would be smart to go with a
direct provider. There are currently a handful of these in Japan (though,
by the time this issue reaches print, there may be 3 or 4 more) . If you
purchase a leased line, you will need a router and/or a server on your end
to manage the connection. In many cases, you will be connecting a LAN to
the router or server and offering Internet connectivity throughout your
office to many machines simultaneously. Some providers can offer lower
prices if you supply your own router.
Intermediate providers. For those who want to start off on a smaller
scale, you can save a lot of money by using a dial-up connection. There
are currently two flavors of dial-up being offered: regular and dedicated.
With dedicated dial-up, your provider sets aside a phone line and number
exclusively for your use (you'll never hear a busy signal). This is ideal
if you need an assured connection, but don't need to be connected 24 hours
a day. Dedicated dial-up is usually available for both analog and ISDN
modems. Regular dial-up connections simply access the provider's general
bank of modems; if that provider has 30 lines and 30 people are already
connected, you will get a busy signal. Naturally, regular dial-up is much
cheaper than dedicated dial-up.
Other services
Today's IP providers offer more than just Internet
connectivity. Among other things, they can establish companies on the
Internet, provide a presence for them, and assist in your online business.
Need your own domain name? Some companies will help you with this even if
you don't get a leased line. Do you need your own FTP site for
transferring files? Do you want to provide your customers with anonymous
FTP to a server so they can get files? Ask the provider if they can offer
such services. Are you dying to get on the Web? If your company not only
needs server space for its pages but also someone to create them, many IP
providers offer Web page creation and placement services.
Evaluating the prices of these extra services is harder than for
straight connectivity. The amount of disk space, special services (like
forms and cgi scripts), and human effort all play a part in the pricing.
The best advice is to determine what services you need, and then shop
around.
Choosing a provider
When selecting your Internet service provider, these
are some points that you should consider.
Price. Due to increased competition, prices have been dropping rapidly.
Within each class of service, you'll find several providers offering
similar pricing schedules. If the difference isn't great, it probably
isn't wise to choose a provider based on price alone. Consider
reliability and support as well. Location. All of the providers listed in
the table are based in Tokyo. If you aren't, then it may be important to
find a provider that offers local access points near you. This will save a
lot in long distance telephone fees for dial-up. And don't rely on
vague plans or promises that there will be a local number for your area
"real soon now."
Connect speed. If your provider offers 19.2K or 28.8K modems or 64K ISDN,
you can save money by connecting at a high rate and reducing your online
time.
Provider's set-up. How many servers does the provider have? What kind of
server software are they running? These are important issues in terms of
speed and stability. Don't be afraid to ask.
Web services. Whether you know it or not, you will almost certainly want
to put something up on the Web before the year is over. When picking a
provider, learn as much as you can about its Web-related services - there
are many different options and pricing arrangements available.
The final word of advice is to take your time. With everyone jumping onto
the Internet, you may be feeling some pressure to join in. Be sure and
devote sufficient time researching the various options open to you.
Contact several providers to ask for a tour of their facilities, inquire
about their services, etc. You are establishing a long-term relationship,
and a good provider will take the time to meet your needs.
Already out of date The excitement surrounding the Internet in Japan is
hard to believe. Things are changing fast - the pricing chart and
connectivity map included with this article will probably be out of date
by the time you read this. Several new providers are poised to enter the
market; look for Rapid Systems, STARTS, NTT PC, IBM Japan, Nihon Sun
Microsystems, MCI, and KDD to join the local Internet services provider
family. Within a few months, a lot of the Japan's bandwidth problems will
have disappeared, and clear, fast connections will prevail. It's now a
buyer's market - enjoy it while it lasts.
While the focus of this article is on English-language corporate and
individual services, it is important to realize that there are many other
Japanese and user-oriented service providers: Bekkoame, InfoWeb,
Asahi-Net, Rim-Net, and Jet-On to name a few. And most of the online
information systems, such as Nifty-Serve, PC-VAN, People, and ASCII-Net,
offer e-mail gateways. Some are even expanding their Internet services to
include ftp, gopher, and Web access. To learn more about these companies,
take a look at any of the Japanese-language Internet magazines.
The big deal about bandwidth
There has been a lot of talk about bandwidth lately. Bandwidth is the
measure of the "width," or range of frequencies, used for transmission of
data. It determines the rate at which information can be sent through a
channel. Bandwidth is expressed in kilo bits per second (Kbps). If you
connect with your provider over a 14,400 modem, you are using roughly 14K
bps of bandwidth.
You may be wondering how a provider who is connected to the
Internet at 64K bps can have even five customers dialed up at the same
time. After all, 5 x 14 equals 70, which is more than 64. The key is that
you very rarely use all of that 14.4K bps at any given moment. The various
things that you do usually send only short bursts, or packets, of data.
The provider can coordinate 30 or 40 such connections, all sending bursts
of information, and make it appear to each as a smooth, seamless
connection. In fact, given Japan's high telecommunications costs, the
only way that a provider can make money is by over-selling their
bandwidth. The current industry-accepted standard is to make sure demand
stays below 20% of the average load. Obviously, some peak times will be
at or near full load; other slow times may see almost no demand. If your
connection seems slow one day and fast another, that may be the reason.
