Japan's three leading mobile phone service providers are stepping up efforts to reduce their networks' vulnerability to natural disasters, learning lessons from service disruptions caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Japan's three leading mobile phone service providers are stepping up efforts to reduce their networks' vulnerability to natural disasters, learning lessons from service disruptions caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The mobile carriers are working on plans to ensure their systems will be better prepared for previously unexpected situations, such as serious damage to their facilities and equipment in wider areas and prolonged power outages.
KDDI Corp., which operates the au mobile communications service, announced July 1 that it will install large capacity batteries in about 2,000 wireless telephone base stations by the end of fiscal 2012 so these stations can operate for 24 hours during power outages.
Currently, the batteries at KDDI's base stations can power their operations for only three hours on average.
As a result, many of KDDI's base stations stopped working during prolonged power failures caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, shutting down the company's cellphone service. The carrier will spend a large sum on efforts to prevent such a service breakdown during a future disaster.
In addition, KDDI will also expand its fleet of power supply vehicles from 55 to 130.
Softbank Mobile Corp. is responding to the criticism that its mobile network is more vulnerable to disasters than its rivals.
Softbank Mobile President Masayoshi Son has expressed his regret over service disruptions, saying the disaster made him painfully aware of "the importance of securing uninterrupted wireless communications" in such a situation.
The nation's third-largest carrier will increase its base station vehicles to 100 from 15.
Softbank plans to make about 2,200 base stations capable of operating for 24 hours without an external power supply.
But Softbank said it will only make the investment if the company is given the bandwidth it is demanding from the central government. A decision is expected to come as early as next fiscal year.
NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to spend some 14 billion yen ($173 million) by the end of March 2012 to increase the number of its base stations capable of operating for 24 hours during power outages to some 1,900 from the current 550. The company will install power generators and large-capacity batteries mainly in critical base stations near prefectural and municipal government offices. The 1,900 base stations will cover areas that account for 65 percent of the population.
Both DoCoMo and KDDI are also working on measures to deal with drastic surges in mobile voice traffic during disasters. Mobile telephony traffic was 50 to 60 times larger than normal levels in the immediate aftermath of the March 11 disaster.
The two carriers are developing new communication modes that are less susceptible to mobile traffic congestion.
The three companies are also considering unifying the disaster message boards they have set up independently.