August 3, 1999

 

FOR INFORMATION

 

NTT Communications Corporation announced today that it will add a flexible settlement function to its Navi-Dial Service starting August 11 nationwide. The function, called Navi-Dial Charge, enables dialers and receivers to share the cost of calls. Dialers, for example, will pay only a local charge for a call, while the receiver, who is contracted to the Navi-Dial Service, will pay the rest.

Navi-Dial Service provides businesses in Japan with efficient ways of receiving calls. The main advantages and features of the service include:

•	Multiple offices nationwide can use a common telephone number. If a line is busy, the caller is automatically routed to the next available office.
•	Navi-Dial calls are billed to the caller at the same rate as normal phone calls.

Navi-Dial users dial a ten-digit number starting with 0570. Launched in May 1997, approximately 660 contracts for the service have been made as of July 31, 1999.

NTT Communications has been providing both a FreeDial service, which requires the receiver to pay for the cost of the call, and the Navi-Dial service, which requires the caller to pay. The two systems are provided as network services to deal with the CTI market, mainly call centers. With the provision of the Navi-Dial Charge function, a new settlement system has been realized whereby both the caller and the receiver share the communications payment, and service users will be able to select settlement systems according to their usage aims (see Reference 1).

Navi-Dial Charge includes the following settlement methods:

Function	Outline	User Benefits
Caller-charge designated option (see Reference 2)	The Navi-Dial service customer (call receiver) designates a call distance range for which the caller must pay (eg: local-call charge). The receiver pays for the remaining distance.	Through distance range designation, the caller can connect with the receiver by only paying a local-call charge from anywhere in the country.
Cost-sharing in case of re-routing option (see Reference 3)	If a call is re-routed, the additional call charge will be billed to the Navi-Dial service customer (call receiver).	Callers are spared from having to pay extra charges if their calls are re-routed to more distant locations.
Conditional receiver-charged option (see Reference 4)	If calls are re-routed, all charges are billed to the Navi-Dial service customer (call receiver).	Applies when all operators are busy and the caller only hears a recorded message. In such cases, all call charges will be paid by the Navi-Dial service customer (call receiver).

Conditions for the use of Navi-Dial Charge function are as follows:

Function	Combined use	Charges	Setup fee (eg: switches)
Caller-charge designated option	Can be combined with all other functions of the Navi-Dial service	3,000 yen per destination(*1)	1,000 yen per destination(*1)
Cost-sharing in case of re-routing option	Can be combined with either re-routed destination function or call forwarding function	3,000 yen per main destination(*2)	1,000 yen per main destination(*2)
Conditional receiver-charged option	Can be combined with either re-routed destination function or call forwarding function	3,000 yen per main destination(*2)	1,000 yen per main destination(*2)