Tokyo Friendfinder
After so many reports about how slow US/UK/wherever broadband really is, this is kinda like rubbing salt into the wound, but we really do need to tell you that Japanese homes are about to get hooked up to 1Gbps fibre internet connections from next month. Yes - that’s a freakin’ gigabit per second.
The first gigabit-class FTTH service in the world will kick off on October 1 and is being offered by telco KDDI. Moreover, the company, which also owns number-two wireless carrier, au, isn’t even charging that much for it.
Hikari One Home Gigabit, as it’s called, will cost ¥5,560 (£55) a month, down by about $20 from the current 100Mbit/s service. So, they’ve even reduced the price to make us jealous, eh?
Packages on offer will also bring telephone services and premium TV channels for an add-on charge, while the service area covers Hokkaido and the Tokyo area.
Sadly for wireless users, they won’t get anywhere near the throughput advertised, as the KDDI router currently supports only 802.11b and g Wi-Fi, but not the n variety. Boo-hoo for them.
(Crossposted to TechRadar)
Hire us to write for you, consult on Japan tech and more.Click here and let us know what you need and maybe follow us on Twitter for all sorts of Japan adventuring.
04:02 PM 
Mark Hiratsuka •
Permalink
Household | Internet 
Tagged with:
ftth
hikari
kddi
Add a comment | More DWT | Get a cool job in Japan! | Follow us on Twitter
Share this story online:
Or try the world's biggest matchmaking site:
Japanese gadgets from Tokyo Zakka! — Perfect gifts for your nerdiest friends back home!
Next entry: Iwata casts doubt on 2009 DSi arrival in rest of world
Previous entry: Panasonic claims 3D 1080p HD TV on a single Blu-ray disk
