TOKYO -- NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today that the company will expand the service area for Global Super Link, a next-generation Ethernet service, to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong in addition to the U.S. and Japan. The expanded service will be available on July 3, to be followed by more cities around the world in the future. A more flexible fee structure will also begin on the same day. Currently, users can choose between two transmission speeds of 45Mbps, for a flat rate, or 100Mbps with a fee depending on data traffic.

Under the new flexible fee, users can choose transmission speeds in increments of 10Mbps from 10Mbps to 100Mbps for a flat rate, although 100Mbps subscribers can also opt for a variable rate.Global Super Link, launched last July, was the world's first full-scale commercial service of its kind, providing enterprise users with high-speed, high-bandwidth, cost-effective global burstable data transmission that accommodates their usage patterns.The service takes advantage of MPLS technology and NTT Com's Global IP backbone to offer secure virtual private Ethernet service with world-class network management. Enterprise users can create a global LAN environment using their existing equipment, which saves the cost of having to purchase special devices.

NTT Com provides end-to-end services such as access lines for monitoring trouble on the Ethernet.NTT Com demonstrated the possibilities of the service last February 5 when it succeeded in using an Internet-protocol (IP) transmission for a delayed high-definition broadcast in Japan of NFL Super Bowl XL, the championship game of American professional football, played in Detroit, Michigan. The trial broadcast was fed from the U.S. at a transmission rate of approximately 70Mbps (MPEG2-TS) through NTT Com's Global Super Link and was publicly broadcast at midnight, February 6 (Japan standard time).

NTT Communications Corp. (NYSE: NTT)