The ratings on Nippon Telegraph&Telephone Corp. (NTT; AA/Stable/A-1+) reflect its established leading position in Japan's fixed-line, mobile communications, and broadband markets and its wholly owned subsidiary NTT DOCOMO Inc.'s (AA/Stable/A-1+) nearly 50% share of the mobile communications market, which serves as a key earnings pillar and generates high profitability. In the broadband business, NTT is also by far Japan's largest fiber to the home (FTTH) service provider. Furthermore, we also factor increasing contribution from system integration (SI) business to the company's total earnings and its minimal financial risk profile, backed by its strong cash flow, into the ratings on NTT. On the other hand, constraints on the ratings include a possible slower improvement in earnings from FTTH services,
