Press Releases (SoftBank BB Corp.) 2004

Number-One Broadband, Yahoo! BB Launch of the Yahoo! BB hikari Service, a New Comprehensive Broadband Service Using Optical Fiber ~Achieving super high-speed communication by using optical fiber with a maximum speed of 1 Gbps~

October 4, 2004

SOFTBANK BB Corp. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masayoshi Son) and Yahoo Japan Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masahiro Inoue; Security Code: 4689) will jointly launch Yahoo! BB hikari, a new comprehensive broadband service using optical fiber. Yahoo! BB hikari includes Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion(*).. Applications will be accepted from October 5, 2004.

Yahoo! BB comprehensive broadband service jointly provided by SOFTBANK BB Corp. and Yahoo Japan Corporation using ADSL technology started commercial operation in September 2001. This is the largest comprehensive broadband service in Japan, encompassing 4,426,000 subscribers as of the end of August 2004.

In providing Yahoo! BB hikari, we made it possible to offer the world’s fastest giga-level network together with the backbone of SOFTBANK BB Corp. that boasts a maximum speed of 60 Gbps. The network uses optical fiber with a maximum speed of 1 Gbps in an access line from NTT’s station premises to the user’s premises. In this way, we will be providing a high-quality, more stable Yahoo! BB hikari service that will accommodate the different needs of customers as well as the existing ADSL service.

  • *Note:“Yahoo! BB hikari mansion” is the trademark of the service, which means Yahoo! BB hikari service for the apartment and condominium complexes.

An outline of the Yahoo! BB hikari service is as follows:

1) Yahoo! BB hikari home 〜 High-speed access line with a maximum speed of 1 Gbps〜

Under this service, an access line from NTT’s station premises to the user’s premises is created using optical fiber with a maximum speed of 1 Gbps that is shared by up to 32 users.

It became possible to provide this access line when SOFTBANK BB installed facilities that can accommodate 1 Gbps in NTT’s station premises and built the GE-PON(*) system. We are now able to provide a high-quality, more stable communication environment compared to the existing services of other companies that sharing access lines with a maximum speed of 100 Mbps. (Depending on the equipment in the premises, the maximum speed per user will be at 100 Mbps.)

  • *Note: GE-PON
    GE-PON is the technology to substantially expand the communication capacity of each subscriber by incorporating Gigabit Ethernet technology into the Passive Optical Network (PON) system. With this technology, optical fiber from NTT’s station premises to the user’s premises is shared by multiple users to the half-way point, providing speeds up to ten times greater than the maximum speed of the conventional PON system.

Start date for accepting service applications:

October 5
City designated in the ordinance
December 1
The service of the existing Yahoo! BB users had changed.

Sales area:

Starting with the city designated in the ordinance, the sales area will be expanded until the service is available nationwide.

Sales channel:

Yahoo! JAPAN, mass retailers and sales agents

Campaign:

Yahoo! BB hikari home, no monthly charges for up to two months The initial cost of 2000 yen (2100 yen including tax) is abolished.(For customers who subscribe from October 5 to November 30)

2) Yahoo! BB hikari mansion 〜 Start of the full-scale commercial service〜

SOFTBANK BB Corp. has been providing an optical fiber service to apartment and condominium complexes partially on a trial basis since November 2003. The service will soon be provided as a full-scale commercial service for new and existing apartment and condominium complexes.

Under this service, optical fiber for subscribers is laid in the common part of a housing complex. Initially, it is provided as an optical fiber with a maximum speed of 100 Mbps, but it is scheduled to provide optical fiber with a maximum speed of 1 Gbps, like Yahoo! BB hikari home, early in 2005.

The service is provided using two methods depending on the structure in housing complex. Type V uses existing telephone lines and Type E involves installing new LAN cable.

ISP service “Yahoo! BB”

In both Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion, services equivalent to the Yahoo! BB ADSL service will be provided at standard.

IP phone service, “BB Phone”

BB Phone is available in both Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion.

  • *This service can be used only in calls made or received using a 050-number assigned to each subscribing line with a BB Phone.
  • *This is an optional service for Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion Type E.

“Yahoo! BB Wireless LAN Pack”

In both Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion, the Yahoo! BB Wireless LAN Pack is available as an option.

“BBTV”, the broadband broadcasting service

Both Yahoo! BB hikari home and Yahoo! BB hikari mansion is scheduled to be made available within the year.

  • *The BBTV service is now available in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures. The areas in which the service is available will be rolled out consecutively.

The SOFTBANK Group wishes to make a social contribution by providing innovative broadband telecommunications infrastructure and services that enrich the means of human communication.

Fee for each service

Yahoo! BB hikari home

Yahoo! BB hikari home and
Yahoo! BB hikari home with BB Phone
Initial Cost Administrative fee for installation of the optical line 2,000 yen (2,100 yen including tax)
Fee for installation of the optical line Standard installation fee *1 Borne by us *2
Fee for nonstandard additional installation Estimated separately
Holiday surcharge for additional installation 20,000 yen (21,000 yen including tax)
  • *1 Services included in the standard installation fee: Cable laying from the nearest connection point (telephone pole) to the optical terminal, installation of an edge-processed cabinet, hole punching (only when necessary, provided it is relatively simple), waterproofing of the hole after drawing the cable through, installation of a dead-end hook, installation of an optical terminal.
  • *2 The optical line installation fee (the standard installation fee) is borne by us on condition that the service will continue to be used after the date the charges apply. However, if the service is cancelled from date installation is completed by us or the date installation is completed by NTT East/West, whichever comes first and the day prior to the date the charges apply, the customer shall pay 32,000 yen (33,600 including tax) for the optical line installation fee (standard installation fee) and 2,000 yen (2,100 yen including tax) for the administrative fee of installation of the optical line, totaling 34,000 yen (35,700 yen including tax) as a cancellation fee.
Yahoo! BB hikari home Yahoo! BB hikari home with BB Phone
Monthly Usage Charge Basic charge for Optical home 4,200 yen (4,410 yen including tax) 4,580 yen (4,809 yen including tax)
Set usage fee*3 for the optical terminal 1,000 yen (1,050 yen including tax)
ISP service fee 1,290 yen (1,354 yen including tax)
Rental fee for hikari BB unit T1 400 yen (420 yen including tax)
Call charges for BB Phone - Metered rate
Subtotal 6,890 yen (7,234 yen including tax) 7,270 yen (7,633 yen including tax)
  • *3 The set usage fee for the optical terminal includes the usage fee for the in-house optical wire and the usage fee for the optical terminal.
  • *It is necessary to use Yahoo! BB hikari home for at least 12 months, including the month in which the line was connected. If Yahoo! BB hikari home is canceled during this minimum usage period, the customer must pay a penalty equivalent to the basic charge for hikari home, the service usage fee that is charged from the month after the month of cancellation to the month in which the minimum usage period expires, and the set usage fee for the optical terminal.
  • *The technological standard of the network terminating equipment for the optical terminal installed at customer’s premises is 100 Mbps maximum, and the maximum available speed for the customer is 100 Mbps both inbound and outbound.
  • *This is a best-effort service. The communication speed, the communication quality and the connection are not guaranteed
  • *This service is provided for free-standing houses and housing complexes of two stories or less.

Yahoo! BB hikari mansion (Fee for existing apartment and condominium complexes )

Fee
Initial cost Administrative fee for subscription 5,000 yen (5,250 yen including tax)
Basic installation fee 15,000 yen (15,750 yen including tax)
Type V Fee
Subscription by 8 to 15 households Subscription by 16 households or more
Monthly Charge Monthly usage charge 3,700 yen (3,885 yen including tax) 3,500 yen (3,675 yen including tax)
VDSL modem rental fee 800 yen (840 yen including tax)
Rental fee for hikari BB unit *4
Call charges for BB phone Metered rate
  • *4 As the BB Phone is a standard service in Yahoo! BB hikari mansion Type V, the hikari BB unit is required at standard.
Type E Fee
Subscription by 8 to 15 households Subscription by 16 households or more
Monthly Charge Monthly usage charge 3,700 yen (3,885 yen including tax) 3,500 yen (3,675 yen including tax)
Rental fee for hikari BB unit *5
(optional)
400 yen (420 yen including tax)
Call charges for BB phone Metered rate
  • *5 As the BB Phone service is optional in Yahoo! BB hikari mansion Type E, the hikari BB unit is required only when using the BB phone.
  • *This is a best-effort service. The communication speed, the communication quality and the connection are not guaranteed
  • *It is necessary to use Yahoo! BB hikari mansion for at least six months including the month in which the line is connected. If Yahoo! BB hikari mansion is canceled during this minimum usage period, the customer must pay a penalty equivalent to the monthly usage charge, the service usage fee that is charged from the month after the month of cancellation until the month in which the minimum usage period expires.
  • The information is true and accurate at the time of publication.
    Price, specification, contact and other information of products and service may be subjected to change. The information contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.