Seven regional telecommunications carriers plan to invest in PNJ Communications, a Tokyo-based data communications services firm, bringing all 10 of the nation's regional carriers on board, industry sources said Friday.

PNJ Communications was established in November 1999 by three regional telecommunications carriers affiliated with power-utility companies.

Its aim is to provide high-speed, large-capacity data communications services based on Internet protocol technology, mainly for business customers.

The three original firms were Tokyo Telecommunication Network Inc., affiliated with Tokyo Electric Power Co., Osaka Media Port Corp., affiliated with Kansai Electric Power Co., and Chubu Telecommunications Co., affiliated with Chubu Electric Power Co.

The investment by the remaining seven -- regional carriers affiliated with power companies in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa -- will boost the firm's capital from the current 100 million yen to 1.1 billion yen at the end of July, the sources said.

The seven new investors will hold a combined 17 percent stake in PNJ Communications, the sources said.

Shikoku home service

TAKAMATSU, Kagawa Pref. (Kyodo) Shikoku Electric Power Co. announced Friday it will launch an experimental operation next year that will connect households to a service network.

The company will pick some 1,000 households in and around the city as monitors for the new service, providing them with a control panel through which they can purchase products, access various information and have their electrical appliances checked.

The company aims to fully commercialize the service as early as 2002.