NTT group carriers will halve the fixed-rate Internet access for its ISDN users to around 4,000 yen a month in May, Junichiro Miyazu, president of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., said Wednesday. The proposal to lower the fixed-rate for Internet access is aimed at attracting Internet users because NTT's regional carriers -- NTT-East Corp. and NTT West Corp. -- see a decline in subscribers for their ordinary telephone services. Under the ongoing pilot project, the two carriers allow subscribers to their integrated services digital network (ISDN) in parts of Osaka and Tokyo unlimited access time to Internet providers for 8,000 yen a month. ISDN subscribers can use their telephones and surf the Internet simultaneously. Beginning in May, the regional carriers will offer the same service at around 4,000 yen in Tokyo's 23 wards and in most municipalities in Osaka. At the same time, the carriers plan to further lower the fixed-rate for Internet access to around 3,000 yen for short-range ISDN users, namely, those accessing Internet providers nearby. If the pilot project goes well, NTT plans to move to full-scale service in November, Miyazu said.