Compiled from staff, wire reports Yahoo Japan will begin a high-speed Internet connection service using asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology as early as August, company officials said Tuesday.

The company will charge 2,280 yen for an ADSL connection and for the use of a broadband portal used to access the Internet. The price is about half of that being charged for similar services by the two regional units of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the company said.

BB Technology Corp., a joint venture between Yahoo Japan and Internet investor Softbank Corp., has finished connecting several NTT telephone exchange centers in the metropolitan area with a new cable that allows gigabits of throughput and is planning to connect several more centers by the end of the year. Once the network is finished, about 70 percent of Japanese households will be able to access its broadband service, Yahoo officials said.

"This service promises Internet users faster connections that are much cheaper than what they're paying for at the moment," said Masayoshi Son, president of Softbank.

Yahoo Japan will begin taking applications for the service today, and start a trial service as early as next week within the Tokyo metropolitan area, they said.

NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp., which together control more than half of the domestic ADSL service in Japan, plan to reduce their monthly rate from the current 4,050 yen to 3,800 yen in July, excluding fees for Internet provider services.