The ratings on Nippon Telegraph&Telephone Corp. (NTT; AA/Stable/A-1+) reflect the company's overwhelming dominance of Japanese telecommunications subscriptions and its extremely strong position in Japan's fixed-line, mobile communications, and broadband markets. A stable competitive environment exists in the domestic market--dominated by NTT, KDDI Corp. (NR), and Softbank Corp. (BBB-/Positive/--)--adding support to NTT's creditworthiness. NTT has established a solid position in mobile communications through NTT DOCOMO Inc. (AA/Stable/A-1+), a 100%-owned subsidiary that generates about half of the group's EBITDA. Despite intensifying competition, NTT DOCOMO's communications quality and high number of subscriptions compared with its rivals enable it to continue to hold almost 50% of the subscribers in the mobile market. Although NTT DOCOMO's total average revenue per user (ARPU) has
