KDD to Invest in C2C Cable Network

Tokyo, July 24, 2000 - KDD Corporation announced today to invest in C2C, a cable construction and maintenance company established by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., together with other seven companies including telecoms carriers in the Asia Region. The investment share of KDD group is 4.25% and its total amount of investment is US$ 30million (approx 3.24billion yen).

C2C, aiming at marketing bandwidth expected to increase with the growth of demands for the Internet in the Asia-Pacific Region, will construct the C2C Cable Network. The network that has a total length of 17,000 km connecting Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore in a loop configuration will expected to be in service by the third quarter of 2001.

Its circuit capacity can be expanded up to 7.56 Tbps, using the latest DWDM technology. With this C2C Cable Network will be one of the largest-capacity submarine cables in the world.

In order to enhance usefulness for cable users, the C2C Cable Network will provide the backhaul networks to main cities in the landing countries, as well as secure the capacity in the trans-Pacific submarine cables for access to the United States.

KDD Corporation will be working on building a more reliable global network with the C2C Cable Network, by providing its Japanese section with the cable landing facilities in both the Kanto and the Kansai regions, and connecting the network with other international submarine cables in the Pacific and Asia Regions landed currently at the KDD's submarine cable relay stations.

KDD Submarine Cable Systems Inc. (KDD-SCS), a subsidiary of KDD Corporation was awarded the supply contract for the Construction of C2C Cable Network. The sections KDD-SCS contracted this time are those of Japan inland and between Japan and Manila, spanning a total length of about 4,200 km, and the contract price amounts to aprox. US$ 300 million (approx. 32.4 billion yen).