Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hitomi Murakami.
It is a great honor for me to be elected as the new Chairman of PHS MoU Group. I would like to say a few words on this occasion.
Since the formation of PHS MoU Group in July, 1996, PHS MoU Group has remarked so much progress; we now have 78 organizations in our Group including 63 Signatory Members, and the PHS systems are introduced in so many countries through the positive attitude and hard work of all the members.
I would like to express my special thanks to Dr. Ishikawa, the first Chairman, Mr. Wakao and Mr. Gent, the first Vice-Chairmen who have contributed so much to the progress of the Group and to the worldwide expansion of PHS systems.
I also appreciate the associated working group members of Business, Technical, Promotion and Next Generation WG who have contributed to the completion of many technical documents and to the promotion of the PHS systems, and all of the PHS MoU Group Members who have supported the activities of PHS MoU Group.
PHS Forums of Americas was established recently, following the regional forums in Australia, Indonesia and India. It is a good direction for our promotional activity.
I hear that more than 30 countries and regions have already introduced, or are going to introduce, PHS systems. In addition, TelecomAsia, a fixed network operator in Thailand, will start its commercial service of public PHS system (called PCT: Personal Communication Telephone) very soon.
New application of PHS, such as integration with cellular system and various kinds of new functions to expand the utilization of PHS, are being developed and are being commercialized one after another. I’m very happy to hear such good news concerning PHS expansion. In order to support the expansion of PHS and to enhance PHS service continuously, I believe that the role of PHS MoU Group, such as timely submission of necessary information and quick contribution of technical specifications, becomes more and more important.
As Chairman of PHS MoU Group, I will do my very best to coordinate the activities of our Group in order to contribute to the expansion of PHS and the utilization of worldwide personal communication using PHS technology, through the cooperation of all of you PHS MoU Group Members.
Thank you for your attention.