Thursday, January 8, 2004

NTT DoCoMo Builds i-mode Disaster Message Board

NTT DoCoMo is launching an i-mode Disaster Message Board service that will allow subscribers in Japan to post personal messages for friends and relatives who might not otherwise be able to contact them in the immediate aftermath of a national disaster, such as a high-magnitude earthquake. NTT DoCoMo said that should a major disaster occur, its network will undoubtedly be extremely busy as -- in addition to the heavy traffic among administrative and relief agencies, ordinary users in the affected locale typically attempt outside contact to worried relatives and friends. In the event of severe network congestion, the new packet-based i-mode Disaster Message Board will be given sufficient priority to ensure that it continues to function. Each i-mode user in the disaster area would be able to click an on-screen menu enabling him or her to post up to 10 messages of 100 Japanese characters each. Someone wishing to check for a message left by a person in the disaster area would connect to the Disaster Message Board site, and input that person's cell phone number to display any registered messages.


There are currently more than 45 million DoCoMo cellular phone users in Japan. http://www.ntt.co.jp