Phone venture announced

Phone venture announced

LONDON (AFP): Britain's Cable and Wireless plc announced yesterday a joint venture with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), trading house Itochu Corp., and Hong Kong Telecommunications Ltd. to promote Japan's personal handyphone system (PHS) in Asia.

PHS International, which will be based in Hong Kong, will initially "target Asian countries most suited to the technology", Cable and Wireless said in a statement.

Cable and Wireless and NTT/NTT Mobile Communications Network will each hold a 27 percent stake in the venture, while Hong Kong Telecom and Itochu will each have 23 percent. The four companies will make an initial investment of US$4 million, with the total divided according to their shareholdings.

PHS telephones are smaller and cheaper than conventional cellular telephones but do not allow communications to and from fast-moving vehicles. The product is aimed at the mass consumer market.

The digital PHS network was developed in Japan, where 100,000 handsets have already been sold since its launch two months ago. The country should yield a total customer base of 40 million by 2010, Cable and Wireless said.