trent%garfield.cs.wisc.edu@cs.wisc.edu (09/30/90)
Here is a brief summary of my experiences line quality to/from Japan. When I was in Japan this past year calls placed through ITJ (0041) were crystal clear with very little delay (obviously fiber optic). Calls placed through KDD (001) had the characteristic "satellite bounce" delay along with a much lower signal/noise ratio (ie it was noisy). I'm told that (0061)'s line quality is also good, but rarely used it. As far as calling TO Japan goes, I tried to transfer a file via modem over normal Sprint lines over a year ago and was unable to. The line was simple too noisy. However, I tried it again this week (Sprint again), and had no problem at all. Does anyone know which long distance calling companies offer fiber optic lines to Japan from the U.S.? When I've asked Sprint operators, I've received a number of different answers. "No, sir. There is no such thing as a fiber optic line to Japan". "Yes, sir. 100 % of our lines are fiber optic", etc etc. scott trent trent@garfield.cs.wisc.edu s_trent@hoffman.cc.sophia.ac.jp