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Japan Telecom Recovery - Skype opens WiFi for free, 3/14

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Skype Japan has opened its "Skype Access" WiFi access service for free in Japan for some time in the future. For the following WiFi spots, you have to enter the followingWEP/WAP key.

  • livedoor Wireless (SSID: livedoor-web) 656C626A3633706F327077396A
  • BB Mobile Point (SSID: mobilepoint) 696177616B
  • HotSpot (SSID: 0033) A52DE42CB6

They also provide 80 yen credit to all Japanese Skype users, which corresponds to 30 minutes call to Japanese fixed phone.

Source:  Skype Japan

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - DoCoMo's cell site damage info, 3/15

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According to Nikkei Newspaper, NTT DoCoMo's 2470 base stations are still not functional as of 3/15, 10am, down from 2810 site as of 3/14, 5pm. They say if the rolling blackout continues, fuel may run out at some of the sites and they will stop running.

Ibaragi prefecture is suffering the most, with 80% traffic restriction, followed by Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, with 70% restriction.

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - Rolling Blackout Effect for Fixed, 3/14

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Japan is one of the most sophisticated optical broadband country, but unfortunately, the optics cannot be used in case of power outages.  So the fixed line are affected by blackout pretty seriously. Source:  WirelessWire News, 3/14

Services expected to be unavailable in case of blackout

KDDI

(For consumers)

Telephone:  au Hikari, telephone, KDDI-IP Telephone/050 service, Cable Plus Telephone, Metal Plus Telephone (if a user use his/her own power), ADSL one Telephone Service (if a user use his/her own power), MyLine, MyLine Plus (if a user use his/her own power)

  • ISP:  au Hikari Net Service, ADSL one, Metal Plus Telephone, Dial Up, au one net
  • Other:  au Hikari TV servic

(Enterprise)

  • Telephone:  KDDI Hikari Direct, HDDI Hikari Direct over Powered Ethernet, KDDI Metal Plus (wholesale), KDDI-IP Phone
  • ISP:  KDDI Internet Gateway, Ether Share etc.
  • Intra Net Service: KDDI Wide Area Virtual Switch, KDDI Powered Ethernet, KDDI Ether-VPN etc.

NTT East (local service)

  • Telephone:  Hikari Telephone, ISDN, analog telephone (if a user use his/her own power)
  • ISP:  Flet's Hikari, Flet's ADSL, Flet's ISDN
  • Business Service:  Business Ether, Flet's VPN, PBX, Key-Telephone

NTT Communications (long distance)

  • Telephone:  OCN Dot Phone, Hikari Line (Arcstar Direct etc.)
  • ISP:  OCS
  • Enterprise data service:  IP-VPN, e-VLAN, dedicated line etc.

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - Rolling Blackout Effect for Mobile, 3/14

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Due to the damages to power plants, including the current-hot-topic Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant -, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) planned rolling blackout in Tohoku/Kanto area.  As of 3:00pm, 3/14, mobile carriers are stating the expected effect of the blackout as follow: Source:  WirelessWire News, 3/14

Softbank Mobile

  • Each base station has a power generator, and will be functional for a few to a few teens of hours.  Therefore, if the blackout lasts 3 hours as planned, mobile phones will be functional, but due to other reasons, sometimes the service can be unstable.

au (KDDI)

  • Except for the areas already affected due to the base station damage, au mobile service will be available.  However, in some areas served by repeaters such as underground malls and high-rise buildings, or where service congestion occur, the service may not stable.
  • au femtocell and au repeaters will not be functional.

NTT DoCoMo

  • Each base station has its own power generator and we believe that planned 3 hour blackout will not disrupt the service, but there are many uncertainties and we cannot state for sure.

Wilcom

  • Service may be unstable due to the rolling blackout.

UQ Communications

  • Most of UQ's WiMax base stations are not equipped with power generator and we expect that service will not be available during the rolling blackout.

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - Internet radio and TV, 3/13

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As of 3/13, 5pm, radiko (Internet radio) eliminated its area restrictions and anyone can hear its streaming from anywhere in Japan. You can listen to the below stations at radiko.jp or radiko smartphone apps, but due to the high traffic, stations are requesting that non-emergency listeners refrain from accessing the site, and give priority to Tohoku area residents.

Source:  WirelessWire News, 3/13

Available stations:

Kanto Area:  TBS Radio, Bunka Hoso, Nippon Hoso, Radio Nikkei, InterFM, FM TOKYO, J-WAVE

Kansai Area:  ABC Radio, MBS Radio, OBC Radio Osaka, FM COCOLO, FM802, FM OSAKA

NHK TV is re-streamed on uStream, NicoNico Douga, Yahoo.  NHK Daiichi Radio is streamed online simultaneously.

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - Emergency bulletin board, 3/11

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All the mobile carriers started "Emergency Mobile Bulletin Board" right after the quake on 3/11. Source:  WirelessWire News, 3/11

NTT DoCoMo:  iMenu top menu, only available to upload from Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaragi, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano prefectures.  For smartphones, Emergency Bulletin app is available from DoCoMo Market.

au (KDDI):  EZ Web top menu, or auone top menu

Softbank Mobile:  Yahoo! Keitai or My Softbank, and iPhone Emergency App

E-mobile:  Bookmark -> EMnet service

Wilcom:  http://dengon.clubh.ne.jp

For access from PC, see the following:

NTT East (Fixed Local) is providing Emergency Bulletin Board Dial 117 and Broadband Bulletin Web117.

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - fixed, the next day 3/12

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This is the situation on the next day after the quake struck. 3/12 (Sat) around noon, according to my friend Asako Itagaki at WirelessWire News

Source:  WirelessWire News 3/12 noon

NTT East (local telephone in the eastern Japan)

  • Service interruption:  485,000 analog telephone lines, 79,500 ISDN and Flet's ISDN, 208,600 Flet's Hikari (FTTH), mainly in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures
  • In all NTT East area (east of Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi and Kanagawa, total of 17 prefectures), public phone are open to public for free

NTT Communications (long distance)

  • Approx. 500 enterprise lines (Arcstar Direct) are disrupted mainly in Tohoku Area
  • OCN (ISP) is unstable in Tohoku Area (Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, Akita and Yamagata)
  • Approx. 12000 enterprise data service lines (IP-VPN、e-VLAN etc.) are unstable in some parts of Tohoku Area

KDDI

  • Some of analog telephone lines are unstable
  • Internet service such as au one net, IP-VPN, WVS, Ether VPN, Hikari Direct, Metal Plus, IP Phone, Cable Plus Phone are unstable in some parts of the affected area, Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures

Softbank Telecom

  • Some telecom services are unstable in the affected area, Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima and Ibaragi prefectures

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - mobile, the next day 3/12

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This is the situation on the next day after the quake struck. 3/12 (Sat) around noon, according to my friend Asako Itagaki at WirelessWire News

Source:  WirelessWire News, 3/12 noon

NTT DoCoMo

  • FOMA (3G) voice service is occasionally interrupted due to congestion.  There are cases that users get "no service" on their phone.
  • FOMA voice and data cannot be used in the areas with no power.
  • Calls to Tohoku and Kanto area are partially blocked to avoid congestion after 3:07pm on 3/11.

au (KDDI)

  • au voice service is occasionally interrupted due to congestion.
  • Mobile e-mail notification does not work in some parts of following prefectures:  Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima, Niigata, Igaragi, Gunma, Tochigi, Chiba, Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi

Softbank

  • Softbank voice service is occasionally interrupted due to congestion.
  • Calls to the following prefectures are partially blocked to avoid congestion after 8:00am on 3/12:  Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Fukushima, Yamagata, Ibaragi, Gunma, Tochigi, Chiba, Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Shizuoka

E-mobile

  • Unstable transmission in the Eastern Japan, in some parts of the following prefectures:  Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaragi, Tochigi, Gunma

Wilcom

  • Unstable transmission due to the base station problems caused by power outages in Kanto, Tohoku and Tokai area

UQ

  • WiMax is unstable in the wide areas in Eastern Japan

Michi

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Japan Telecom Recovery - Mobile right after the quake

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This is an early situation review when the quake struck.  Time is all expressed in Japan Standard Time. 3/11(Fri) 2:46pm  The first quake occured off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, Northern Japan (Tohoku area).  The second big one occured about 30 minutes later off the coast of Ibaragi prefecture (Kanto area).

Unknown number of cell sites were destroyed and mobile traffic was quite congested right after the quake.  At Narita Airport near Tokyo, I tried to call my parents in Kanagawa prefecture with my Japanese cell phone and did not go through.  I could send out mobile e-mails, but did not get any reply for a few hours.

After 2 hours or so, I started to see many people on cell phone outside of Narita, where everyone in the airport building evacuated.  So I tried to call again and got through.  After another 1/2 hour, my sister called me to my cell.

According to them, mobile e-mails were taking about 2 hours to be delivered.  Family members were exchanging mobile e-mails asking "are you OK?" to each other, and the other side got them after everyone came home.

Still I could not receive any mobile e-mails at all.

I was lucky to be in the Airport, where WiFi was restored in a few hours.  I noticed that my Verizon Android phone (I did not use 3G roaming) have WiFi connection at around 7pm.  E-mails were still slow but Twitter was working fine, so I started tweeting that I was OK.  Twitter, Facebook, SMS via GoogleVoice started to puring in.  Airport WiFi was totally fine, it kept working all night.

View this photo

Michi

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Japan's telecom recovery info - Internet

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I just came back from Japan, after being stranded at Narita Airport overnight due to the big earthquake last Friday. There really is nothing I can do to help the situation, other than to pray for my country, but as an industry professional, I will try to gather as much info as possible about telecom, mobile and internet infra/service desruption and recovery in Japan.

First, a secialist is surprised that Internet infrastructure was largely intact in Japan after the quake.  I experienced it myself at Narita.  After a few hours, WiFi in the airport was up and running, and I could send/receive e-mails and Twitter on my Android smartphone with no problem.  It was such a relief to have a reliable communication device, as in those times, mobile phones are hard to go through and I refrained myself not to dial too many times so the circuits would not get clogged.

Japan's Internet largely intact after earthquake, tsunami

Despite the Quake, Japan’s Internet Connections Are Going Strong

More info will follow.

Michi