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NTT

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) has been providing telecommunications services in Japan since 1869 and was established as a company in 1985. The group is the seventh largest fixed broadband operator in the world with 22 million broadband subscribers in March 2020. It had another 80 million mobile communication subscribers through its subsidiary NTT DOCOMO. NTT is also a major data centre provider, with more than 160 facilities in 20 countries.

Summary

NTT is a top performer in digital inclusion, ranking second among Asian companies. It is especially notable for its digital support for seniors and users with disabilities. Combining this with its strong programmes and disclosure about economic activities earns the company the second-highest rank in the access measurement area. In the innovation area, NTT strongly supports openness and diversity, and is one of only two Asian companies with published guidelines for ethics in artificial intelligence (AI). In terms of use, the company follows best practice for cybersecurity management, but it could enhance its privacy policy. While the company’s initiative for school connectivity includes significant disclosure, NTT scores relatively low in the skills measurement area due to its lack of activities across all levels of digital learning. The company is very transparent in reporting. The NTT Group and its major subsidiaries each publish an environmental, social and governance report, in line with international standards.

Ranking position: #8/100
Total score: 1.32/2

Measurement area	Score (0-2)	Rank (0-100)
Access	1.69 / 2	#2
Skills	0.69 / 2	#33
Use	1.16 / 2	#16
Innovation	1.75 / 2	#10

Access: NTT has good practices that aim to improve digital access for underserved populations. For example, it has an ongoing programme, Hometown Community System, that assists people displaced by the Great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident. NTT distributed tablets to each displaced household to aid the timely transmission of government information and maintain communication among family members now living apart. Further, it provides numerous products and services to users with disabilities and has established internal organisations that hire and train people with disabilities. In this regard, NTT provides a good example for companies to follow. Finally, it reports on how its economic value is distributed among stakeholders.
Skills: In South Africa, NTT’s local subsidiary, Dimension Data, operates the Saturday School Programme in partnership with more than 20 schools. Every Saturday, Dimension Data staff members volunteer to teach computer skills to disadvantaged secondary school students. The programme, which it started in 1995, is commendable for being one of the longest-running skills initiatives among digital companies surveyed.
Use: NTT shows strong commitment to cybersecurity, has operational mechanisms for monitoring and responding to incidents, and discloses the number of data breaches. It is also notable for its efforts in relation to online safety for children, providing free, in-person presentations at schools around Japan on potential online dangers.
Innovation: NTT performs well in terms of inclusive digital innovation. Specifically, it collaborates with universities to use big data for disease analysis and considers ethical guidelines in AI research. It discloses gender-disaggregated data on employees in technical roles, making it one of the most transparent digital companies.

Access: The company could carry out third-party assessments to better understand the effect of its basic access and digital inclusion initiatives for women and girls. NTT could also compile a comprehensive guide to its economic value distribution, including for subsidiaries, and calculate its indirect impacts to give a complete picture of the group’s economic effects.
Skills: NTT has opportunities to contribute to digital literacy and technical skills initiatives as well as provide more details on its existing skill programmes.
Use: The company could enhance its privacy policy by providing details about third-party access to user information as well as data portability. In addition, it could make a high-level commitment to online child protection.
Innovation: No evidence was available of significant risks in this measurement area.

More about the company

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Ownership structure: Public, with government and public bodies owning a total of 33.3%
Fiscal year: Begins 1 April
Group revenue: US$109,159 million (FY2019)
Group employees: 319,050 (FY2019)
Website: https://www.ntt.co.jp

NTT

Leading practices

Access

Skills

Use

Innovation

Risks and opportunities

Access

Skills

Use

Innovation

More about the company