With e-commerce blooming and cut-throat competition intensifying in the telephone business, Japan Telecom Co. is shifting its focus from voice to data transmission and enlisting the help of foreign partners, says Haruo Murakami, president of the firm.
"More Japanese customers want to outsource management of their corporate network systems and need system solution services," he said. "We are trying to secure profitability by promoting data services."
Japan Telecom, which originated from the former state-run Japanese National Railway group, began offering long-distance calling services on its optical fiber network in 1987, when Murakami entered the company.