Darren McKellin Chair	Yurie Horita Vice Chair

2008 Committee Description
The Telecommunications Subcommittee works in tandem with the ICT Committee and its other subcommittees to highlight current business trends, monitor regulatory developments and serve as a forum for addressing matters relevant to its members. Principal focus is to host speaking events featuring industry leaders addressing technology and market trends from the perspective of equipment manufacturers, content providers, carriers and customers. We also work closely with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the European Business Community on issues related to market competition and access to the Japan market.
The Committee started the year with no Chair and no Vice Chairs. Co-Chair Peter Butterfield returned to the US, and Co-Chair Darren McKellin moved to ICT. In the Spring of 2008 Yurie Horita of Impress was recruited to become VC and Darren became interim Chair. Horita-san did an excellent job in kick starting the Sub-Committee and she landed 2 very promient speakers who did a great job - Ted Matsumoto of SoftBank and Natsuno-san who invented the iMode service for DoCoMo.

2008 Committee Objectives

• Rebuilding the leadership of the Sub-Committee
• Create a vigorous forum for members to meet to network and discuss developments in the telecommunications industry which are relevant to American businesses - including customers and equipment and service providers - here in Japan
• Identify issues of concern and offer recommendations for developing a freely competitive market environment for telecommunications business in Japan.

2008 Achievements
Advocacy

• Supporting the Internet Economy Whitepaper led by the ICT Committee
• The White Paper will serve as a framework for our advocacy with the Japanese and American governments as well as inform our cooperation with industry partners.
  
• The White Paper will have Four Major Themes (1. Developments in US, European and Asian Markets, 2. Current Status of the Internet Economy in Japan, 3. Sector by Sector Analysis of Policy Challenges, 4. Policy Recommendations Based on Global Best Practices.