If the sharp increase in the number of cellular phone subscriptions continues unabated, Japan could face a serious shortage of numbers set aside for cellular phones in the near future. The authorities are hurrying to adopt measures to deal with the situation, including the release of new numbers.
The number of cellular phone subscriptions reached 5.34 million units at the end of June and is rising at a rapid pace--there was an increase of 1 million units in the three months from April alone. If the current pace continues, the number of subscriptions is expected to surpass 8 million at the end of fiscal 1995 (end of March 1996).
Cellular phone numbers have seven digits following either 030 or 040, which identifies the receiver as a cellular phone. Each of the cellular phone companies has been allotted certain numbers from within these numbers and in turn allots numbers to subscribers. When the numbers that the cellular phone companies themselves use for business purposes are excluded, the current system has the capacity to provide numbers to about 8 million cellular phone users. Accordingly, if the number of subscriptions continues to increase at the present rapid rate, the cellular phone companies can be expected to run out of numbers quite soon.
At the moment cellular phone companies are responding to the problem by borrowing cellular phone numbers from group affiliates in regions where demand is not so heavy. But it is only a matter of time before such countermeasures reach their limit, and in the end new numbers will be required. However, since the release of new numbers for cellular phones will require various tasks, including a change in the software for the switching system of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., a touch-and-go situation can be expected to continue for a while.
(The above article, edited by Japan Echo Inc., is based on domestic Japanese news sources. It is offered for reference purposes and does not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.)