Sky Perfect soars on broadband news

By CNN's Kristie Lu Stout

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Sky Perfect shares have soared 7.5 percent in response to news that it will broadcast over broadband networks as early as July.

Japan's largest private satellite TV broadcaster plans to take the lead in broadband communications by transmitting Sky PerfecTV's programs via high-speed fiber-optics networks and other broadband communications lines.

News of Sky Perfect's broadband ambitions has lifted its stock from a five-month low of 119,000 yen last Friday to 129,000 yen Wednesday morning.

A high-speed hot stock

Shares in the broadcaster have lost 56 percent since its October 20, 2000 debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market for start-ups.

But a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun describing Sky Perfect's aspirations for hyper-speed broadcasting have transformed the company into one of Japan's hottest stocks.

Sky Perfect will transmit programs now aired on its 292 channels to its viewers' personal computers. It will use a 100mbps Net access service from NTT East, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily.

The broadcaster plans to offer downloadable music, video on demand and e-commerce functionality over the high-speed lines.

Sky Perfect caters to approximately 2.6 million households with its satellite broadcasting services.

In the next five years, the Japanese government hopes to wire 30 million households with high-speed Internet access services.

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SKY PerfecTV

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