KDDI announced that it was selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to carry out a project titled "Study on Promoting the Dissemination of 'Disaster Prevention ICT through Collaboration between Telecommunications and Broadcasting Using Cell Broadcast (CBS)' in Latin America."
Cell Broadcast is a technology that KDDI uses to simultaneously broadcast information to mobile phones in a specific area, and it is also used by KDDI for Japan's earthquake early warning system.
Following this selection, KDDI began conducting a survey on the implementation and operational status of CBS in Latin American countries, and also began technical verification (hereinafter referred to as "this verification") on the same day, aimed at realizing an earthquake early warning system in the Republic of El Salvador, a country that has shown strong interest in disaster prevention measures using ICT.
Going forward, KDDI will continue to support the commercialization of earthquake early warning systems in Latin America, while also considering expanding the service to earthquake-prone countries such as Southeast Asia, and contributing to the reduction of human casualties caused by earthquakes.
The Latin American region lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire and is known as one of the world's most earthquake-prone areas. However, the lack of sufficient means to quickly and widely deliver information to the public when earthquakes occur has remained a challenge.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is working to resolve social challenges in developing countries by supporting the overseas expansion of Japan's advanced technologies. Through this selection, KDDI is expected to leverage its expertise and technology from Japan to promote the use of ICT in the field of disaster prevention in Latin America.
Since 2007, KDDI has used CBS to deliver earthquake early warnings in Japan, where large-scale disasters are frequent. In this verification project to be conducted in the Republic of El Salvador, KDDI aims to distribute earthquake early warnings to mobile phones widely used by the public, enabling faster and broader alerts to citizens.
Under this selection, KDDI will conduct initiatives that include on-site technical verification to evaluate the practicality of the technology with a view toward future commercialization. KDDI will first collaborate with the Republic of El Salvador to conduct the following verifications:
KDDI will confirm that the newly developed cloud-based "Earthquake Early Warning Distribution System" can link with the infrastructure of multiple telecommunication carriers in the Republic of El Salvador, enabling real-time delivery of alerts issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the equivalent to Japan's Meteorological Agency, to commercial mobile phones using CBS.
Because the Earthquake Early Warning Distribution System is a cloud-based system, it can reduce the costs associated with system installation and operation while allowing connections from multiple telecommunication carriers. In addition, given that it can also flexibly accommodate expansion to other countries, future expansion beyond the Republic of El Salvador is also under consideration.
