MPT approves caller-ID phone service
After a prolonged controversy, Japanese telecommunications giant NTT finally obtained approval this summer from the Telecommunications Council of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to implement a caller identification service. Though Caller ID -- which permits a person receiving a call to see the phone number from which the call is being placed -- has already been implemented in parts of the US and Europe, its introduction in Japan has been delayed by concerns over the potential for invasion of callers' privacy.
Japan's business community has been urging quick introduction of Caller ID service as a means of improving business efficiency. Linkage of this service to corporate databases, it is claimed, will allow companies to respond more quickly to customers' phoned orders and inquiries. Many individuals, meanwhile, see Caller ID service as a potential means of cutting down on nuisance or harassing phone calls.
NTT is gearing up to launch trial Caller ID service in January, but there is still vocal opposition to the service from some consumer organizations and legal experts. Opponents of the service fear that callers' privacy will not be properly protected, and that information obtained through Caller ID could be used by unscrupulous businesses or individuals for purposes that could inconvenience the caller (such as telemarketing). In response to such concerns, the MPT is drawing up guidelines, due to be completed by year-end, that would prohibit the use of numbers obtained through Caller ID for secondary purposes. Critics note, however, that these guidelines will have no legal force, although the MPT has recommended that the government consider appropriate privacy-protection legislation.
In response to a ministry request to NTT that it implement a method which
would allow callers to prevent their number from being displayed, the company
plans to offer two options. One
option is per-line blocking, in which all calls made on a particular number
would be masked. The other is per-call blocking, in which a caller could
dial a specific 3-digit number before placing a call to prevent the originating
phone number from being displayed.
Perhaps the strongest argument in favor of Caller ID is that it would
help to cut down on crank or harassment calls. This is apparently perceived
as a major problem, since an MPT survey earlier this year found that some
80% of the 1,000 people it polled had received one or more such calls. NTT
currently offers a call-blocking service by which, if the recipient of a
crank call
immediately dials a specified number, all future calls made from that line
will be rejected. This service, however, does not show the phone number
being blocked.
Caller ID, if it is implemented as planned, should represent a potential boon for phone manufactures, vendors, and carriers. Subscribers will have to buy new phone units that have a small display screen to show the number, thus giving a boost to new phone sales. NTT plans to charge a premium (expected to be JPY600 to JPY800 per month) for subscribers who wish to take advantage of the new service, thereby contributing to its revenues.
US bases get connected to the Internet via AT&T
In july, the army and air forces exchange services (AAFES) announced that it had signed an agreement making AT&T the sole provider of dial-up Internet access for US Army and Air Forces installations in Japan. The service, which utilizes the latest AT&T Internet technologies, offers the US military community in Japan something it had lacked until now: on-base dial-up Internet access with such standard features as World Wide Web access, e-mail, FTP, and telnet.
The AT&T Internet Service was inaugurated at the Kadena and Yokota Air Bases in July, and expanded to Camp Zama Air Base in September. Misawa Air Base is scheduled to be added in November, with more bases to follow. Registered users have "roaming" ability, so that they can sign on to their account from any connected base, not just their home base.
Online registration kits are being made available to military personnel through AT&T Surf Shops on each base. For an initial sign-up fee of JPY5,000 ($50), registered users receive an ID and password, Netscape Navigator browser software, and a user's guide. Subscribers can select a monthly yen-based (JPY3,500) or yearly dollar-based ($300) payment option.
AT&T provides its new US military users with service information and help in English via a 24-hour hotline.
Japan supercomputer shipments up by 84% in '95
Sales of scalar-type products set to overtake vector-type sales
In Japan's supercomputer market, sales of the scalar-type products more than doubled in FY1995, while sales of vector-type systems grew by just 50%. Although vector-type units retained a slight market-share majority (52%), scalar-type models are expected to account for nearly 60% of Japan's supercomputer sales in FY1996.
According to a report released by MIC Research Institute, total shipment volume of supercomputers in Japan in FY1995 was 224 units, up by 84% from the previous fiscal year (122 units). Sales of vector-type units were up by just 50%, from 78 to 117 units, but sales of scalar-type supercomputers climbed by 143%, from 44 to 107 units. These figures are based on an MIC survey of the seven major supercomputer makers and their sales representatives in Japan.
MIC expects supercomputer shipments to rise a further 33% in FY1996, to 299 units. Nearly all of the anticipated growth in FY1996 is attributable to the growth of scalar-type products that incorporate RISC CPUs, as more scalar-oriented application software is introduced to the market. Scalar-type product sales are expected to grow by 67% in FY1996, to 179 units; vector-type sales will remain stagnant, rising by just 3%.
Fujitsu and Hewlett Packard Japan held the largest overall market share, 19.2% each, in FY1995, followed by Cray Research Japan (18.8%), IBM Japan (13.4%), and NEC (11.2%). This was a big drop for HP Japan (down from 37% in '94), and a healthy rise for IBM Japan and NEC (both up from 7% in '94). Nihon Cray and Fujitsu were leaders in vector-type sales, followed by HP Japan, while IBM Japan was the runaway leader in scalar-type sales, with Nihon Silicon Graphics and Hitachi a distant 2nd and 3rd.
While Cray Japan, HP Japan, Fujitsu, and NEC have so far been concentrating mainly on providing vector-type products with CMOS chips, Hitachi, IBM Japan, and Nihon Silicon Graphics have been relying on introducing more scalar-type products to increase their market share. Both Hitachi and HP Japan, though, have apparently decided to sell scalar-type supercomputers only in FY1996. (Hitachi held just 3% of the vector-type product market in FY1995, down from 10% in FY1994, while HP Japan's share of the vector-type market dropped from 51% in '94 to 24% in '95.) Owing to this strategy, MIC predicts that Hitachi's overall market share will increase slightly to 11.4% in FY1996, up from 9.4% in FY1995, while HP Japan's share will fall from 19.2% to 10.0%. HP Japan and Cray Japan are expected to be the big losers in overall market share for FY1996, while Nihon Silicon Graphics should move from 7th (with 8.9%) into a tie for 3rd (with 13.4%).
Virus reports down in July
The number of computer viruses reported to the Information Technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA), a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), was lower in July 1996 than in the previous month. Among the 54 calls reporting 56 cases of virus infections in July (down from 66 reported infections in June), 37 attributed their infections to viruses spreading from infected floppy disks or hard disks, 1 was reportedly transmitted through overseas e-mail, and 16 came from unknown sources, according to IPA. IBM systems again accounted for the bulk of the viruses reported; most common was still the Anti-CMOS virus, though the number of Anti-CMOS infections fell from 20 to 8.
For more information, or to report a virus, contact the IPA Computer Security office at phone 03-3437-2301, fax 03-3437-2537, or send e-mail to virus @adm.ipa. go.jp.
| Computer viruses reported to IPA in July 1996 | ||||
| cases | system(s) | |||
| Anti-CMOS | 8 | I | ||
| FORM | 8 | I | ||
| Cascade (1701) | 7 | I, N | ||
| B1 | 4 | I | ||
| Yankee Doodle | 4 | I, N | ||
| Ripper | 3 | I | ||
| D3 | 2 | I | ||
| Lixi | 2 | I | ||
| MBDF | 2 | M | ||
| Winword concept | 2 | I | ||
| Anti-TELEFONICA | 2 | I | ||
| Beijing | 2 | I | ||
| Ten other viruses (3783, nVIR, CANSU, SAMPO, Junkie, Stealth Boot, Nasita, Nops, PeterII, and Monkey) had one reported case each. | ||||
| I=IBM-compatible systems, N=NEC98 systems, M=Macintosh systems | ||||
Source: IPA
