“Yahoo! BB” Comprehensive Broadband Service Progress Report
SOFTBANK CORP. reports the progress of Yahoo! BB, comprehensive broadband service provided by wholly-owned subsidiary, BB Technologies Corporation (Headquarter: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masayoshi Son; hereinafter BBT) and Yahoo Japan Corporation (Headquarter: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masahiro Inoue).
| End of August 2002 | Monthly increase | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of lines installed | Number of lines serviced by BBT | 859,000 | 107,000 |
| Number of lines serviced by Metallic Communications Group companies | 26,000 | -1,000 | |
| Total | 885,000 | 106,000 | |
| Number of BB Phone users * | 413,000 | 94,000 | |
| Number of central offices ready for service | 1,232 | 14 | |
- * The number of BB phone users is based on those users whose registration is completed for BB phone service.
On September 1, 2002, “Yahoo! BB” marked the first anniversary of the commencement of commercial service. Over the past year, the number of lines connected to “Yahoo! BB” has risen to 885,000 (as at the end of August), while the churn rate *1 for July and August was extremely low, at under 1%, indicating that the service enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of its customers.
“Yahoo! BB” is built on revolutionary technology and a robust backbone, which enable it to provide extraordinary functionality and performance for significantly lower prices. On September 1 of last year, the SOFTBANK Group began offering “Yahoo! BB” commercial services at unprecedented low prices, starting at 2280 yen per month *2 for an ADSL access with a maximum downstream rate of 8 Mbps. *3
It followed up on this in April with the launch of “BB Phone,” a revolutionary broadband telephony service that offers free calling between subscribers and rates of just 7.5 yen for 3 minutes *4 anywhere in Japan or the United States (Mainland). In May, it launched, on a trial basis, the “Yahoo! BB Mobile” service, that offers a free, high-speed, wireless LAN environment with a maximum downstream rate of 11 Mbps *3 in a joint project with McDonald’s, Dotour Coffee Shops and other leading restaurant chains. In August, the company became the first to offer an ADSL access service with a maximum downstream rate of 12 Mbps *3 with the launch of “Yahoo! BB 12M.”
Yahoo! BB has also endeavored to expand its customer support. In November of last year it opened a telephone support service, which moved to a year round, 24-hour day service in March of this year and switched to a toll-free number in July. In January of this year, it launched the “10 Business Day” campaign, reducing the time to service startup to within 10 business days for approximately 99.4% *5 of all new applications received over the Internet. The company is committed to these and similar efforts to improve customer satisfaction.
The SOFTBANK Group wishes to contribute to society by utilizing revolutionary broadband telecommunications infrastructure and services to provide a wider range of means for communication between people.
“Yahoo! BB” first-year highlights
| Sept. 1, 2001 | Start up of “Yahoo! BB” commercial broadband service |
|---|---|
| Nov. 1, 2001 | Establishment of telephone support line |
| Dec. 20, 2001 | Basic agreement on broadband network service alliance with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. |
| Dec. 25, 2001 | Announcement of “Cyber Town Plan” with Oguchi-cho, Aichi Prefecture |
| Jan. 25, 2002 | Start of “10 Business Days” campaign |
| Mar. 11, 2002 | Telephone support line moves to 24-hour service |
| Apr. 25, 2002 | Start of “BB Phone” commercial broadband telephony service |
| Apr. 27, 2002 | Start of “BB Phone” television commercials featuring Naohito Fujiki |
| May 10, 2002 | Yahoo! BB subscribers topped 500,000 |
| May 31, 2002 | Start of free trial service for “Yahoo! BB Mobile” at McDonald’s and Starbucks shops |
| May 31, 2002 | Start of free IP telephony “McBB Phone” service at McDonald’s shops |
| Jul. 1, 2002 | Start of trial service for “Yahoo! BB 12M”, ADSL access service with a maximum downstream rate of 12 Mbps *3 |
| Jul. 1, 2002 | Integration of services provided by Metallic Communications group into “Yahoo! BB” |
| Jul. 1, 2002 | Establishment of toll-free number for telephone support line |
| Jul. 24, 2002 | Announcement of Club iT Corporation to provide “BB Cable TV” using “Yahoo! BB” lines to broadcast television content |
| Aug. 12, 2002 | Start up of “Yahoo! BB 12M” commercial service |
| Aug. 23, 2002 | “Yahoo! BB Mobile” service topped one hundred locations |
- *1 Churn rate for "Yahoo! BB" calculated as "Monthly number of cancellations/total number of users."
- *2 This price does not include modem rental fees, NTT line charges, or NTT monthly subscriber base rates.
- *3 ADSL/wireless LAN services are provided on a best-effort basis; the transmission speed is not guaranteed.
- *4 Three-digit emergency numbers (110, 119, etc.), 0120, 0990 numbers and other premium telephone services are not covered by this service, so users still incur charges from their telephone company. International calls are billed on a per minute basis. For rates to other regions besides United States (mainland), see www.bbtec.net
- *5 Startup rate for customers applying between July 16 and August 15, 2002.
- * All prices are exclusive of tax.
Reference
Company Profiles
BB Technologies Corporation
| Company Name | BB Technologies Corporation |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | 24-1 Nihonbashi Hakozaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo |
| Representative | Masayoshi Son |
| Established | May 2000 |
| paid-in capital | 3,000 million yen |
| Shareholder | Wholly owned subsidiary of SOFTBANK CORP. |
| Type of Businesses |
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Yahoo! Japan <http:www.yahoo.co.jp>
Yahoo! Japan is a general internet information service of Yahoo Japan Corporation (listing: OTC (JASDAQ), Code No. 4689; Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Established: January 31, 1996; President & CEO: Masahiro Inoue) that counts approximately 26.71 million unique users per month, * and 359 million page views per day. Users enjoy 58 different services, including searches, content, communities, commerce and mobile functions. The Yahoo! global web network stretches across 25 countries, including United States, Latin America, Canada, Europe and Asia.
- * Calculated from the viewing rate of 88.4% (NAR: Ratio of persons visiting and least once every 4 weeks) as reported in the Japan Research Center Internet Viewing Survey (JAR Report Vol. 46; Survey period: July 15, 2002 to August 11, 2002) based on a total Japan Internet user population of approximately 30.21 million.
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