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- Company Name:
KDDI Corporation
- Founded:
June 1, 1984
- Capital:
141,851 million yen
- Main Office:
Garden Air Tower, 10-10,
Iidabashi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku, |
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KDDI Hikari Plus is a three-in-one service that consists of "Hikari Plus Phone"(telephony), "Hikari Plus Net" (Internet), and "Hikari Plus TV" (TV program and video delivery) offered via a fiber-optic network. In October 2003, the service was introduced nationwide, becoming available at first primarily for large condominiums in major cities. Hikari Plus Phone uses IP telephony to provide features and prices comparable to those of existing phone services. Through this service, you can make emergency calls (110, 119) and connect to mobile and PHS phones. You can maintain your existing numbers and make free calls to other Hikari Plus Phone subscribers and to those who also subscribe to the services provided by KDDI (DION or other allied ISPs). Hikari Plus Net is an ultrahigh-speed Internet access service provided via a fiber-optic network that achieves speeds of up to 70 Mbps on subscribers' premises (the "Type V" VDSL system (for condominiums) is the fastest in this category in Japan). As a benefit for famil y members, up to five e-mail addresses can be used at no extra charge. Hikari Plus TV is a TV program and video delivery service that was launched in December 2003. By connecting KDDI's rental set top box (STB), you can enjoy multi-channel broadcasting and video on demand (VOD) service featuring approximately 2,000 contents, including movies and animation of DVDgrade quality. au handset users can check out these programs, view promotional
videos, and purchase content through the "Ezweb" Internet access service. Making full use of the fiber-optic network, the service is quite wide-ranging - for example, you can enjoy online karaoke through the STB as well. |
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 With the increasing demand for broadband, KDDI is providing various services as a common carrier. The company's strength lies in the fact that they can singly provide services ranging from enterprise communications to personal mobile phones. For the new service "KDDI Hikari Plus," they built a high-capacity telecom infrastructure combining ultrahighspeed fiber-optic access lines with Contents Delivery Network (CDN), KDDI's new proprietary technology, to enable stable TV program and video delivery.
Discussing KDDI's own characteristics, Mr. Takeda of the Optical Network Dept. says, "We see ourselves first and foremost as challengers, always trying to provide customers with new services they cannot get from our competitors. KDDI Hikari Plus, an unprecedented service in Japan, was born out of such a corporate attitude." Mr. Kuwahara of the Broadband Division, explaining the new service's possible position in the broadband market, says, "Overall demand for fiber-optic services initially grew at a monthly rate of 10%, but now seems to be growing at an even more rapid pace in 2004. KDDI Hikari Plus achieves stable and higher-quality TV program and video delivery through the use of ultrahigh-speed fiber-optic access lines and KDDI's proprietary CDN. The service offers ultrahigh-speed Internet access, phone, and multi-channel broadcasting
together with VOD at competitive prices. Although our high-capacity telecom infrastructure makes it possible to provide a wide range of services, we selected Internet, phone, and video delivery to begin, due to the increasing demand for them. One of the most important factors in CDN is how to ensure high-quality videos. We place a set top box (STB) on the terminal side to convert IP-based video into television pictures. In this regard, we took appropriate measures to enhance security and cope with copyright-related issues." In the construction of the network infrastructure for this new service, Hitachi Cable's network equipment played a key role. |
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 Unlike conventional carriers that primarily use the Synchronous Optical Network (SDH/SONET) in their large networks, KDDI selected Gigabit Ethernet to ensure speed and stability comparable to that of SONET Ring. This KDDI network system is centered on "GMX," Hitachi Cable's Gigabit Ethernet multiplexer. Explaining why they
decided to use Gigabit Ethernet, Mr. Hashimoto of the Network Design Group says, "We intended to build a simple network with minimum delay. In terms of bandwidth and speed, GbE rivals SONET Ring. Cost benefits were also an important factor." Discussing how they selected the vendor, he says, "We assessed about ten vendors. We placed primary importance on speed and stability. Fault detection was also taken into consideration." Then what made them choose Hitachi Cable? "Firstly, Hitachi Cable's equipment met our requirement for speed and reliability in the event of
problems. Its ease of operation was also attractive. They built a specific system for our general-purpose monitoring system." Evaluating the construction process, Mr. Hashimoto says, "When making proposed improvements, they met deadlines in time for our scheduled launching of services. Because they immediately responded to our requests, we could evaluate and implement the system without delay. The rework and improvement processes were carried out very quickly." Mr. Takeda also values Hitachi Cable's responsiveness, saying, "Initially, we were not so sure about the necessary specifications because KDDI Hikari Plus was an unprecedented service in Japan. We had to figure them out along the way in order to
meet the tight preparation schedule. Under such circumstances, Hitachi Cable helped us bring our vision to life swiftly by incorporating it into the design at an early stage." |
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 KDDI Hikari Plus serves as an information infrastructure in preparation for our newly
emerging ubiquitous network society. Mr. Kuwahara emphasizes that KDDI's core
competence is the ability to singly promote the adoption of broadband in both fixed and mobile communications, and to provide network communications services including video delivery. Mr. Takeda predicts that, "Fiber optics will be predominant in the future. I expect there to be an increase in demand, particularly for videos. Although we are now offering 30 channels, the number of available channels is increasing, and the bandwidth per channel may also increase due to the growing need for higher-quality videos. We must now consider peak traffic in Internet access services. In our core network environment, au's pipe and broadband pipe are
already integrated. Our new network will be increasingly important as infrastructure for ubiquitous network society." Mr. Hashimoto has great expectations for Hitachi Cable, saying, "From now on, I hope they will actively support us from a carrier's viewpoint. As those who access the network will increase the requirements and it will be necessary to achieve a higher capacity, we would like to work with them to address these challenges.
Because they understand our network structure and maintainability, I expect them to provide us support
from technological and developmental viewpoints. Hitachi Cable offers backbone transmitters as well as L2 and L3 switch products. In this regard, one of our main goals is to use these technologies in a coordinated manner. I would appreciate suggestions concerning redundancy for the connection of these products, their maintainability when installed in stations, and the like." A closer partnership is about to emerge with a view to
realizing a ubiquitous network society, for which KDDI Hikari Plus is now paving the way. |
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KDDI Corporation
KDDI provides comprehensive services as a Type-I telecommunications business operator. The
company was formed on October 1, 2000 through a merger between KDD, DDI, and IDO. Under their
corporate slogan of "Designing The Future," they are creating a necessary environment in preparation for the
advent of a ubiquitous network society. With the aim of becoming a "Ubiquitous Solution Company,"
they are making efforts to provide higher-quality solutions and improve customer convenience based on their
accumulated technological expertise.
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