NTT’s fixed line subscriber base falls below 50 million mark

For the first time in nearly two decades, the number of people subscribing to fixed line services of NTT’s East and West Corp units has dipped below the 50 million mark, reports Thomson Financial citing unconfirmed reports in the Nikkei business daily. NTT’s fixed subscriber base reached its peak in March 1998 but has fallen ever since and now stands at around 80% of its 1998 high. To reverse the decline, NTT is deploying around 30 million fibre-optic circuits by 2010 in a bid to win back customers with advanced communications services.