NTT Communications Corp., a key unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., said Tuesday that it will reduce daytime local-call charges on weekdays to 8.5 yen per three minutes, instead of the originally planned cut to 8.8 yen, starting May 1.
The reduction follows announcements from both KDDI and Japan Telecom Co. of plans to cut local-call rates to 8.5 yen and from Tokyo Telecommunications Network Co. to reduce its rate to 8.4 yen per three minutes.
Telecom carriers are intensifying charge-cutting competition to woo users ahead of the May 1 launch of the "Myline" regime, which allows users to connect to preferred carriers without dialing a prefix number.
The NTT Group's two regional carriers -- NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. -- are expected to announce similar cuts, to 8.5 yen per three minutes.
The Myline local-call service of NTT Communications, whose main business fields are long-distance calls and international calls, is designed mainly to benefit corporate users in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.