Microsoft, Softbank, TEPCO Plan.

Microsoft Corp., Softbank Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) are planning to jointly offer a low-cost wireless Internet service in Tokyo, according to the Monday morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The three companies plan to establish a venture this month to work towards a service launch in the middle of next year, said the newspaper which also reported an official announcement of the plan is expected on Wednesday. By using wireless links to connect with customers, the service will be able to bypass the local access lines of NTT East Corp., a unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), which are often criticized for their high cost. The main network is likely to be based on a wireless network being deployed by Tokyo Telecommunications Network Inc. (TTNet), an affiliate of TEPCO, while antennas for the service will be mounted on TEPCO_s electricity poles. When it launches next year, the new service will be competing in a marketplace that is likely to be very different from today. At present, domestic Internet users are limited to NTT_s ISDN or analog dial-up network for a low-cost Internet connection although an ADSL network from NTT will be operational from later this year and Sony Corp. is also planning a low-cost networking service based on wireless.