The telecommunications minister hinted Tuesday that Okinawa Cellular Telephone Co. may remain free from regulations governing "dominant" mobile phone operators even though its controls a large share of the market in Okinawa Prefecture.
"We will consider whether we must define service areas by prefecture and whether (a review of service areas) is legally possible," Toranosuke Katayama told a news conference.
Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications, was speaking about a revision of the telecommunications law implemented in November. Under the law, a mobile phone operator with a market share of 25 percent or more is defined as being dominant and is subject to business restrictions.