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FOCUS: Experiment under way to introduce broadband on remote island+
(Japan Economic Newswire)KAGOSHIMA, Japan, Dec. 28_(Kyodo) _ The government is experimenting with a super-high-frequency radio system in Kagoshima Prefecture to introduce broadband Internet communications on a group of remote islands to bring information, as well as movies and music, to the islanders.
The experiment by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Kyushu unit was started on Koshiki Islands in November.
The islands are 27 kilometers from Kyushu Island and part of the city of Satsuma-Sendai on the mainland, and the plan is to bring it broadband through radio at a frequency of 18 gigahertz. On the island, the local area network will be used.
The maximum data transfer rate will be 100 megabits per second. Even if many people use the system simultaneously, there will be a 1 megabit per second rate available on average.
The distance for stable use of SHF radio is said to be about 10 km, but the ministry unit is trying to break this barrier.
At a meeting to explain the system on Dec. 3, many of the island's population of about 6,400 attended, and when they were shown an animation on the Internet through broadband, they were surprised at the speed at which it loaded.
The reason for the radio experiment is that, except for Hachijo Island and Amami-Oshima Islands, optical fiber cables have not been laid to remote islands in the Kyushu area.
Due to profitability and management setup problems, the introduction of the asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) has been delayed, and the integrated services digital network (ISDN) is still the mainstream of the Net environment in the area.
An employee in charge of the communications system at a construction company on Koshiki Islands, said, "It takes time to even send photos by e-mail. Today, there are many elaborate websites, and we are having trouble in seeing them."
The household broadband subscription rate in Kagoshima Prefecture, where there are many isolated islands, is Japan's lowest at about 21 percent, and an expanded digital divide is feared.
Satsuma-Sendai Mayor Takuro Mori said, "The experiment is attracting attention from remote islands in various parts of the country. I would like to see it succeed so that there will be no more broadband 'zero areas'."
Another attraction is the relatively low cost of installing the system.
If the experiment, to continue until the end of March, is successful, broadband services to the islands will become possible, but there are many problems. The 18 mHz frequency is weak in rain, and this is an area where there is plenty of that, including that brought by typhoons.
A ministry official said, "For stable operations, we will have to consider using the ISDN as a substitute when it rains."
How to manage the system management is another problem. A city official said the municipality will manage the radio facilities and lease them out to private companies, but an industry source said, "Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and others will not come forward because they are obliged under law to offer uniform services nationwide."
An official at the Kagoshima prefectural government said, "We can ask a nonprofit organization to manage the broadband, but that is difficult if the demand is not there. At first, we will have to ask the islanders to raise their understanding of communications."
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