Disaster Preparedness

Followed by our Widestar satellite phone service, the next-generation service Widestar II was launched in April 2010.
Using two satellites in geosynchronous orbit over the equator, Widestar and Widestar II cover all of Japan and an area roughly 200 nautical miles from Japan's coastline. It operates stably 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is highly impervious to disasters on land and meteorological events. It is used primarily as means of communication in mountainous areas, on ships and on outlying islands for voice and packet communication and fax connectivity.
The new Widestar II offers faster speeds than its predecessor, upping the maximum packet communication speed1 from 64 kbps to 384 kbps for downloads. We are also working to provide services that meet diverse, sophisticated needs. New services include the Private Bandwidth Service, which provides the customer with a dedicated wireless channel, the Direct Connect Service, which offers, dedicated satellite P2P2 data transmission only on Widestar II, and expansion of the Simultaneous Transmission Service to accommodate up to 200 sites. Since the service was started, there has been a cumulative total of approximately 40,000 subscriptions to Widestar or Widestar II as of March 31, 2011. The service is being widely instituted by local governments, other municipal organizations, media, financial institutions and manufacturers. Going forward, in order to accommodate increasingly complex and diverse needs, we will propose solutions packaged with video transmission, data communications, wireless LAN devices and smartphones.

• 1 Transmission speed is the maximum send/receive speed based on the service's technical rating and does not indicate actual transmission speeds. The service is provided on a best-effort basis, and actual transmission speeds vary depending on the communication environment and network traffic.
• 2 P2P is an abbreviation for Point-to-Point. It refers to sending data between two connected points.

In order to promote understanding of disaster preparedness initiatives among even larger numbers of people, DOCOMO distributed a booklet entitled "Moshimo ni Sonaete" (Preparing for disasters), which compiles our cumulative expertise on disaster preparedness and response, to people participating in municipal disaster response drills and other disaster preparedness and response events. The booklet is illustrated and written in a highly accessible style to convey helpful information for disaster preparedness, including details on how to use the Disaster Message Board Service and an overview of the Area Mail Disaster Information Service.
In fiscal 2010 we created another booklet, "Moshimo ni Sonaete: Disaster Message Board Service version," which focuses specifically on how to use the Disaster Message Board Service. The booklet is primarily intended for senior customers with minimal opportunity to use the service.
Going forward we will work to enhance the information contained in the booklets based on DOCOMO's new disaster preparedness planning and provide safety and peace of mind to customers through their mobile phones.

We deploy 70 mobile power generators throughout the country to provide base stations with power during outages. We deployed two additional mobile power generators in fiscal 2010, bringing the total to 72.
In addition, we continue to deploy satellite-entrance mobile base-station vehicles with satellite link to ensure communication with networks using satellite connections. In fiscal 2010, we put one new vehicle into service, so there are now ten vehicles at the ready. When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, 30 mobile power generators and 31 mobile base-station vehicles, including those with satellite links, were deployed in effort to restore communications as quickly as possible in the disaster region.
Going forward, plans call for setting up portable satellite link units that can be used in regions cut off by natural disasters or on remote islands.

Every year DOCOMO conducts a disaster response drill that simulates a major natural disaster.
In fiscal 2010 we conducted drills on October 7 that simulated a Tokai earthquake. They included transmitting information by connecting a disaster response office set up in the headquarter with all regional offices via teleconferencing and a local drill at Sunpu Park in Shizuoka.
The headquarter and regional offices participated in the information transmission drill, and a series of actions were practiced—giving directions, ascertaining and managing the situation, and solving problems that occurred. The drill focused on communications between the headquarter and regional offices in the event a regional office were to suffer damage, and communications between regional offices in the event of extensive damage. Given that a predictive system for a Tokai earthquake is in place, the drill started with directions issued in response to earthquake warnings.
The local drill drew the participation of approximately 110 people, including personnel from DOCOMO, the government of Shizuoka Prefecture, the city of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. A base station rescue drill was conducted along with drills on assembling disaster response vehicles and personnel, transporting rental mobile phones, transporting restoration equipment, and guiding restoration vehicles. The drills confirmed the effectiveness of coordination between outside agencies and relevant internal departments when a large-scale disaster occurs.
In order to take advantage of the drills as an opportunity to inform people of the effectiveness of mobile phones during a disaster, we invited around 100 representatives of local volunteer disaster preparedness organizations, more than in previous years. A seminar was held on effective utilization of mobile phones during disasters at the Shizuoka City Culture Hall, which is located close to where the drills were held. The seminar gave people the opportunity to acquire first-hand experience of services that are effective in disasters, such as satellite mobile phones and Area Mail.
Going forward, DOCOMO intends to plan and conduct disaster preparedness drills on the basis of the experience of Great East Japan Earthquake and our response to it.

The Security & Safety Trade Expo 2010, a major exhibition for crisis management products, technologies and services, was held at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2010.
DOCOMO's exhibit focused on ICT for raising general disaster preparedness levels and was presented together with other NTT Group companies. It introduced effective solutions and services for major disasters, including Widestar II, a satellite phone service initiated in April 2010, and the Simultaneous Transmission Service.
A questionnaire given to expo visitors revealed the high level of interest in Widestar II, as many customers expressed an interest in disaster preparedness using mobile phones. In fiscal 2011 we intend to continue working to raise awareness of our solutions and services for disaster preparedness.