SoftBank, Rakuten Mobile, and NTT Docomo were among the eight Japanese firms that have joined forces, with the participants pledging to jointly use each other’s assets in the wake of a potential disaster.
Business facilities, accommodation, storage sites and refuelling stations would be jointly shared following major events like earthquakes or tsunamis to “restore communication network connectivity quickly in affected areas”.
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The operators pledged to share information needed to assess damage and restore networks, including identifying issues in fixed-line networks that disrupt networks at locations like hospitals.
“By speeding up the restoration of mobile base station backhaul links, the companies aim to restore mobile networks in disaster-affected areas at unprecedented speeds,” a jointly released statement reads.
Upon announcement, the telcos said Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Information and Communications Bureau recognised their efforts during the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the strongest quake to hit mainland Japan since the devastating 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.
The group said the Japanese government “expects further advancements in cooperation among them” in the event of future disasters.
The full participants include: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, NTT East, NTT West, NTT Docomo and NTT Communications, KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten Mobile.
The cooperation framework officially came into force on December 1 2024.
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