ＮＴＴ法、「役割終えた」　社長が廃止言及、競合相手は反対

　ＮＴＴ法の見直しを検討する自民党のプロジェクトチームは１９日の会合で、ＮＴＴなど通信大手のトップから意見を聴取した。ＮＴＴの島田明社長は、ＮＴＴ法について「役割はおおむね完遂した」と述べ、いずれ廃止されることは必至だとの考えを強調した。一方、競合企業のトップは、公平な競争環境の確保の観点などからそろって同法廃止に反対した。
　東京都内で記者会見した島田社長は、ＮＴＴ法が定める全国一律の固定電話のサービス提供義務を見直して、電気通信事業法に盛り込むべきだと主張。ＮＴＴの競争力強化を阻みかねない研究成果の開示義務も廃止すれば、「ＮＴＴ法は不要になる」と説明した。
　これに対し、都内の別の会場で会見したＫＤＤＩの高橋誠社長は「見直しは賛成だが、廃止は反対だ」と強調。ＮＴＴグループ各社の業務を定める同法の廃止で再統合への道が開かれることへの懸念を示した。
　ソフトバンクの宮川潤一社長も、ＮＴＴの前身の日本電信電話公社（電電公社）が築き上げた通信インフラは「公共資産であって、運営に規制があって当然だ」と語った。同法廃止に反対する通信会社など１８０社の要望書を１９日公表した。（2023/10/19-17:08）

Akira Shimada, president of Japanese telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., said Thursday that the roles of a law that governs his company have largely been accomplished, indicating the view that it is inevitable for the NTT law to be eventually abolished.
   The comment, made during a meeting of a ruling Liberal Democratic Party project team on the review of the NTT law, apparently supported discussions by the team that eye the possibility of scrapping the law.
   The team held the day's meeting to hear opinions from the heads of NTT and three major competing telecom companies. KDDI Corp. President Makoto Takahashi and SoftBank Corp. President Junichi Miyakawa attended the meeting in person, while Rakuten Mobile Inc. Chairman Hiroshi Mikitani, also chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group Inc., took part in it online.
   Speaking in a press conference after the meeting, NTT's Shimada said the NTT law will become unnecessary if the obligation to provide nationwide fixed-line telephone services, stipulated in the law, is reviewed and incorporated into the telecom business law, and also if the obligation to disclose research results, which has been preventing the strengthening of competitiveness, is abolished.
   Meanwhile, KDDI's Takahashi and other telecom company heads, who separately held a press conference, voiced opposition to the abolition of the NTT law that stipulates the scope of business of NTT group companies from the viewpoint of ensuring fair competition.