Sega's spin-off grows into Japan's sixth largest ISP

Japanese trade paper Nihon Keizai Shimbun have reported that Sega Enterprises have signed up more than 500,000 Internet users in Japan via the Dreamcast. ISAO, the Sega affiliated ISP (Internet Service Provider) which is considered the official provider for Japanese Dreamcast users, expect to have a full million subscribers by April.

ISAO, which is 50 per cent owned by Sega's parent firm CSK and 35 per cent by Sega themselves, have now become the sixth largest ISP in Japan since they spun off from Sega's networking division in October 1999. To meet rising demand for their Internet service, the company plan to increase network lines by 70 per cent to 22,000 and access points to 191 by the end of March.

Sega currently estimate that 30 per cent of the Dreamcast's Japanese user base (1.65 million by the end of 1999) are taking advantage of the system's Internet compatibility.


Courtesy of IGN.com