ASAHI Net

Asahi Net, Inc.
Native name	株式会社朝日ネット
Type	Public
Traded as	TYO: 3834
Industry	Internet, Education
Founded	Tokyo, Japan (April 2, 1990 (1990-04-02))
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Area served	Japan, USA, worldwide
Key people	Jiro Hijikata, President
Revenue	7,554 million yen (Financial Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2014)
Net income	915 million yen (Financial Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2014)
Total assets	9,914 million yen (March 2014)
Number of employees	108 (March 2014)
Subsidiaries	Asahi_Net_International (USA)
Website	asahinet.com/en/

ASAHI Net is a major Internet service provider based in Japan^[1] and which is operated by Asahi Net, Inc. (株式会社朝日ネット, Kabushiki Gaisha Asahi Net), a public company founded on April 2, 1990. Asahi Net, Inc. has been listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange since December 2007.^[2] It offers low-price ADSL, fiber and mobile broadband Internet connection services across Japan as well as related services. ASAHI Net also operates cloud services for educational institutions and corporations.

ASAHI Net was ranked as No. 1 FTTH Internet service provider in customer satisfaction in 2010 in a customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power.^[3] There are about 537,000 ASAHI Net Internet service subscribers as of September 2013.^[4] In April 2011, ASAHI Net established a subsidiary company, Asahi Net International, Inc. in New York, USA with the purpose of promoting its cloud-based educational support service manaba outside Japan.^[5]

Internet service provider

Asahi PC Net was developed in 1988 as a service for PC communications based on the ideals of “communication” and “creation”. Functionality such as forums, virtual conference rooms and chats where users were identified by their real names were among the distinguishing features of the service. Due to collaborations with literary writers such as Yasutaka Tsutsui, and mutual integration with services such as IBM Japan’s People service, Asahi PC Net became known as a humanistic network.

In 1994, the Asahi Net service was launched as an Internet connection service, and the company became a pioneer in providing service to businesses and organizations through its MMJP company website service. Currently, Asahi Net provides the largest 1 Gbit/s high speed optic fiber network, as well as ADSL, WiMAX and FOMA mobile broadband networks across Japan.

ASAHI Net Services

Internet services

Optic fiber service

Service Name	Network Carrier	Maximum speeds	Type	Target market	Fixed IP utilization	Notes
ASAHI Net FTTH with FLET’S	NTT	1 Gbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Possible	Provides the only 1 Gbit/s service in Western Japan.
ASAHI Net au Hikari	KDDI	1 Gbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Not supported
FLET’S Hikari Next	NTT	200 Mbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Possible
B FLET’S	NTT	100 Mbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Possible
FLET’S Hikari Premium	NTT	100 Mbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Possible

Mobile broadband service

Service Name	Network Carrier	Maximum speeds	Type	Target market	Fixed IP utilization	Notes
ASAHI Net LTE	NTT Docomo	100 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Possible
ASAHI Mobile WiMAX	UQ Communications	40 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Possible
High Speed Mobile (Xi & FOMA)	NTT Docomo	37.5 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Possible
Neo-discount Mobile	eMobile	7.2 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Possible
Wi-Fi Wi2	Wire and Wireless, Inc.	300 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Not supported	Public WiFi service. 30,000 locations across Japan in the BB mobile, Wi2 300 and UQ WiFi network.
Wi-Fi FLETS Spot	NTT	54 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Not supported	Public WiFi service. 9,000 locations across Japan.
AIR-EDGE	Willcom, Inc.	512 kbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Not supported
PacketWIN	KDDI	9.2 Mbit/s (download)	-	Individuals and businesses	Not supported

ADSL service

Service Name	Network Carrier	Maximum speeds	Type	Target market	Fixed IP utilization	Notes
FLET’S ADSL	NTT	47Mbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Possible
Neo-discount ADSL	eAccess	50Mbit/s (download)	Residential	Individuals and businesses	Not supported

Related services
- Fixed IP address
- Email service
- Security services
- Blog and web design services
- ASP groupware
- Content services
- Green services and charity

Cloud services

manaba is a cloud-based collaborative learning system that features functionality of LMS systems, ePortfolio systems and community group functions.

History

April 1990 - ATSON, Inc. (currently, ASAHI Net, Inc.) is established as a subsidiary of Asahi Shimbun and provides the ASAHI PC Net service.
July 1993 - Main service is renamed ASAHI Net from ASAHI PC Net.
March 1994 – Mutual access with IBM Japan’s “People” network is established.
June 1994 – Internet connection service established.
February 1995 – MMJP service is established, aimed at corporations and institutions.
June 1995 – Personal website creation service established.
December 1997 – Established contract with largest Internet provider in the United States at the time, UUNET, to obtain access to 500 access points in the United States.
March 2000 – ATSON, Inc. becomes an independent company through a management buyout.
December 2000 – ADSL service established.
January 2001 – Company name is changed to ASAHI Net, Inc.
October 2001 – Fiber optic Internet service is established.
March 2003 – VoIP Internet telephony service established.
April 2003 – Subscriber number reaches 30,000.
December 2003 – Ranked No.1 in Nikkei Net Navi ISP ranking.
October 2004 – Spam blocking service established.
March 2005 – AsaOne ASP groupware service is established.
March 2005 – AsaBlo blogging service is established.
June 2005 – ASAHI Net Hikari with FLET’S service is established.
April 2006 – ASAHI Net TV, a high-speed broadband service for television connection, is established.
December 2006 – Company stocks trade on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.^[2]
February 2007 – Launched manaba cloud service for educational institutions.
November 2007 – Subscriber number reaches 400,000.
December 2007 – Company stocks trade on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
December 2007 – Ranked No. 1 Internet service provider in Japan by J.D. Power.
July 2008 – Ranked No. 1 Internet service provider in Japan by Nikkei business magazine.
September 2009 – Subscriber number reaches 450,000.
April 2011 – Asahi Net International, Inc. is established in New York, USA.
September 2011 – Subscriber number reaches 500,000.^[6]
October 2011 – ASAHI Mobile WiMAX service is established.
November 2012 – FLET’S Hikari WiFi service for small size apartment complexes is established.
March 2013 – ASAHI Net LTE service for Internet connection using a SIM card is established.

Security

Asahi Net, Inc. is regularly audited by a third party to comply with the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 international ISMS standard.

Contributions

Fundraising for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami relief ASAHI Net subscribers can donate money to relief efforts regarding the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to the Japanese Red Cross through the ASAHI Net service.

Minami Sanriku Recovery Project – free Internet service Asahi Net donated free Internet services and telecommunications equipment to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Minami Sanriku through the Minami Sanriku Recovery Project organized by United Earth.

Green connection The Green connection service offers ASAHI Net subscribers the option of adding 100 yen to their monthly Internet bill to ensure the use of clean energy and carbon offset.

Fundraising for combating hunger ASAHI Net subscribers have the option of donating 100 yen to the effort to end world hunger through the World Food Programme organization as part of the United Nations.

Human Rights Watch ASAHI Net, Inc. has made charitable contributions to the Human Rights Watch, a not-for-profit international organization dedicated to defending human rights.

Kawai Hayao Foundation ASAHI Net, Inc. sponsors the Kawai Hayao Foundation, a not-for-profit group founded by Hayao Kawai, a pioneer in the field of clinical psychology in Japan.

International School of Asia, Karuizawa Asahi Net, Inc. sponsors the International School of Asia, Karuizawa, an international boarding school located in Karuizawa, Japan. The school is scheduled to open in 2014.

H-LAB Asahi Net, Inc. sponsors the Harvard College Japan Initiative – Liberal Arts beyond Borders summer school.

Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education Asahi Net, Inc. sponsored the development of curricula at the Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Exchange.

Teach for Japan Asahi Net, Inc. sponsors the Teach for Japan initiative.

Contributions to artists ASAHI Net supports several world-class literary writers, musicians and artists, including Ryū Murakami, Ryu Goto and Yasutaka Tsutsui through donations, online promotions and support services.