Improving Our Coverage Area

DOCOMO wants customers to be able to use our phones anytime, anywhere. We determine where to locate new base stations by conducting surveys that are based on feedback from customers on local reception quality.
Once the site is determined we go door-to-door before beginning construction to explain the process and schedule to property owners and neighbors. And, once the base station has been installed, we thoroughly check it for safety before putting it into operation.

DOCOMO widely solicits information from customers on reception quality, which customers can send through a web site service for PC and i-mode, called "Kikasete FOMA." We have been asking our customers to report to us regarding FOMA reception quality in order to ensure coverage quality and expand our coverage area. We received approximately 30,000 reports from customers in fiscal 2010. We will continue to improve reception quality based on this feedback.

When customers contact us with complaints about reception quality we go directly to the site and conduct a survey within 48 hours (to the extent possible). Customers have a number of ways to contact us. They can call customer support toll-free from docomo mobile phones at 113, use the "Kikasete FOMA service," or contact us via channels for technical problems and area coverage.
Once we survey reception quality at the site we may install an indoor auxiliary antenna or use a FOMA repeater to boost the reception quality. These measures generally improve indoor reception quality.
Or, when immediate improvements are not possible, we keep in contact with the customer regarding plans to augment base stations or implement other improvement measures and regarding the results of improvements once those will have been made. We keep following up until final improvements are in place.
In fiscal 2010, we conducted approximately 52,000 on-site surveys during the year, thanks in part to efforts to increase awareness of the program through newspaper advertising and other media. In total, we have made approximately 119,000 on-site surveys since the program started. We conduct a questionnaire after surveys are performed, and over 97% of customers have indicated that they are "satisfied."
We endeavor to improve product quality even further to provide customers with a pleasant communications environment.

We have been steadily expanding our coverage area in mountainous regions, where communication generally proves to be difficult to connect. On Mt. Fuji, we have already established base stations and boosters to provide FOMA service in areas along the Yoshida, Subashiri, Gotemba, and Fujinomiya climbing routes to the summit. We also put a booster at the summit during a climbing season.
In fiscal 2009 we conducted reception quality surveys on Japan's Top 100 Mountains1, which are popular climbs. Based on the results, in fiscal 2010 we made improvements to the coverage area by establishing and tuning new base stations on roughly a quarter of the 100 mountains. Going forward, we plan to continue making improvements in places where generally are difficult to connect.

• 1 One hundred mountains in Japan selected by the writer Kyuya Fukada (1903-1971) based on the mountain's dignity, history, personality and other criteria.

With the widespread popularity of mobile phones, DOCOMO is currently working to further enhance our WORLD WING service, which allows customers who use mobile phones in Japan to use them overseas as well.
In fiscal 2010, "Global Pake-hodai," a flat-rate packet plan that can be used when traveling overseas, was made available in 47 countries and regions. We also launched "My Info Mail" and "Global i-Menu" services to provide information to customers on the country or region they are visiting. Further, new support desks were established in Los Angeles and Bangkok, bringing the number of cities overseas with support desks to 14.
The number of subscriptions of mobile phones compatible with the WORLD WING service totaled 36 million as of the end of September 2010, but increased to 42 million as of March 31, 2011, which accounts for 72% of total subscriptions. In fiscal 2011, we will focus on supports for smartphones, which are gaining in popularity, work to expand the range of providers covered by "Global Pake-hodai" and further develop smartphone applications for overseas use. We also intend to continue enhancing support for customers overseas.