Restoration Status for Damage Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Future Responses

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NTT Group has been making concerted efforts to restore damaged facilities and services following the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011. That restoration work, originally scheduled for near completion by the end of April, will soon be completed. This release provides information regarding, among other things, the completed restoration activities, the financial impact on NTT Group, and future responses.

1. Status of communications facilities and service restoration

NTT Group created and has been executing its plan to have its exchange offices and base stations restored (except for certain areas where restoration is physically difficult, such as areas surrounding the nuclear power plant and areas with physically damaged roads, tunnels, etc.) by the end of April through, among others, renewal of power supplies and equipment and re-installing relay transmission lines, repair of relay transmission lines to mobile base stations using emergency fiber optic cable and entrance microwave system , and area remedies for mobile phones using large zone schemes where a single station covers multiple stations. NTT Group has been working faster than the original pace, scheduled for near completion by the end of April, for areas where restoration was considered physically difficult, such as areas surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant (the “nuclear power plant area”) and areas with accessibility issues due to road and tunnel damage. As a result, NTT expects to complete restoration for these areas ahead of schedule.

As a result, NTT expects restoration to be mostly complete by the end of April for exchange office buildings and mobile base stations in areas where customers currently reside. As for the nuclear power plant area, customer residential areas and the nuclear power plant operation area have been restored as well. NTT Group will aim to restore areas where difficulties remain for customers to reside due to extensive damage to their homes, at the same pace roads and other infrastructure are restored.

Status of restoration for NTT East exchange offices with service disruptions

  March 28 April 26 April 30
(scheduled)
Iwate 21 0 0
Miyagi 23 4 0
Fukushima 2 0 0
Total (excluding nuclear power plant area) 46 4 0
Nuclear power plant area 9 3 3
2*1 2*1

*1 Small island regions experiencing island evacuation

Status of restoration for NTT DOCOMO’s base stations with service disruptions

  March 28 April 26 April 30
(scheduled)
Iwate 184 22 16*2
Miyagi 97 4 1*2
Fukushima 26 1 1*2
Total (excluding nuclear power plant area) 307 27 18*2
Nuclear power plant area 68 17 17

*2 Areas experiencing construction difficulties, including severed roads

Status of service restoration by NTT Communications

Regarding corporate data communications services, such as IP-VPN and e-VLAN, a maximum of approximately 15,000 circuits in the Tohoku region were not available, but the relay networks are now restored. The approximate 100 circuits that are experiencing service disruptions are expected to recover service through restorations of access lines and customers' facilities.

2. Future actions in light of damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake

With the Great East Japan Earthquake, telecommunication facilities were impacted in unprecedented ways. Being the fourth strongest earthquake ever recorded in history, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the related tsunamis, caused the destruction and submersion of communication facilities, the failure of communications equipment resulting from power outages and the depletion of emergency power resources (batteries) from widespread and long-term scheduled power outages. The increased variety of means for information exchange with the advancement of mobile phones and the Internet was remarkable.

NTT Group reconfirmed the vitality of communication services in society, and in light of the above events, will advance its efforts as stated below.

  • Development of disaster-resistant networks and prompt recovery methods
    • Distribute key functions across regions and implement multiple routes in preparation against wide area disasters
    • Improve power capacity to withstand widespread and long-term power outages
  • Secure prompt reconnection for local relief sites
    • Increase the use of satellite and wireless communications, etc.
  • Secure means of information distribution after disasters
    • Greater responsiveness to communication needs directly following a disaster, such as safety confirmation (countermeasure against service congestion)
    • Consider measures to correspond to the diversification of customer needs, which are shifting from using voice communications to e-mail and the Internet
  • Provide services and solutions useful during a disaster and during recovery
    • Support for local governments, medical care, and schools, etc.

For initiatives that will be difficult for NTT Group to implement independently, efforts will be made in collaboration with the central and local governments.

3. Financial impact (estimate) on NTT Group

Damage status Fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 Fiscal year ending March 31,2012 and onwards
NTT East
  • Damage to exchange office buildings
    • Demolished: 18 buildings
    • Submerged: 23 buildings
  • Damage to telephone poles
    • Flooded /collapsed: approximately 65,000 poles (coastal areas)
  • Transmission lines and switchboards washed away or physically damaged
    • Relay transmission lines:
      90 routes disconnected (excluding nuclear power plant area)
    • Aerial cables:
      approximately 6,300 km (coastal areas)
Approximately 20.0 billion yen
(profit/loss)

Approximately 40.0 billion yen
(CAPEX)

Approximately 20.0 billion yen
(profit/loss)

NTT DOCOMO
  • Damage to base stations
    • Number of stations requiring restoration: 375
      (including 68 stations within 30km radius surrounding the nuclear power plant)
Approximately 6.0 billion yen
(profit/loss)

Approximately 10.0 billion yen
(CAPEX)

Approximately 10.0 billion yen
(profit/loss)

* The financial impact including other NTT Group companies on the NTT Group consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 is approximately 30.0 billion yen (excluding donations)

(Attachment) Main Activities for Securing Means of Communication


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