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Safer and More Resilient Connected World

KDDI's Approach (Management and Improvement of Network Quality)

Our mission as a telecommunications operator is to ensure a communications environment where customers can use mobile phones and smartphones easily anytime anywhere. KDDI will offer safe and secure communications services by engaging sincerely in every operation from quality management and improvement of communications infrastructure, such as mobile phone base stations and switching equipment for fixed-line phones, to building next-generation networks.

Network Service Quality Management System

KDDI owns a number of telecommunications facilities, including optical cables and mobile phone base stations, which it maintains and operates via technical centers located throughout Japan.
Two operation centers located in Tokyo and Osaka conduct centralized monitoring of network conditions nationwide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In the event of a failure, these centers manage communications, working with maintenance departments throughout Japan. To ensure high-quality and reliable network service, we build, analyze and improve our facility operating system in line with our stringent standards.
Aiming for zero serious accidents, we at KDDI hold 20,000 training sessions each year. Our work procedures are based on the ideas of capacity design of telecommunications equipment, functional redundancy, distributed arrangement of facilities and functional safety.

Frequency and Duration of Network Interruption

In the event that network failure or maintenance causes any inconveniences to our customers' communications, we will make notice about it on the failure and maintenance information page at our website.

Expansion of Service Areas (Base Station Facilities)

Our mission is to offer a stable call and data transmission environment around the clock with a motto of "connecting and protecting lives, connecting day-to-day lives, and connecting hearts and minds." We will aim to build a 5G telecommunications network together with au 4G LTE communications network (800 MHz platinum band, etc.) across Japan to provide a more comfortable telecommunications environment. The 5G service, which provides an advanced telecommunications environment of low latency and high capacity, is much anticipated by many of our customers.
We plan to roll it out in regions as well as major cities.
In addition, KDDI is working to introduce Japan's first "Starlink" satellite telecommunication service using non-geostationary satellite provided by SpaceX. This will use high-speed, high-volume telecommunication as backhaul lines at au base stations to realize high-speed Internet communication using au mobile phones in mountainous areas and isolated islands.
We will also strive to offer au mobile phone and smartphone users a reliable communications environment in crowded areas as well as airports, commercial facilities, event halls, and other in-house spaces.

Building Mobile Phone Base Stations and Care for Neighbors

To offer a reliable communications environment to au mobile phone and smartphone users, KDDI sets up mobile phone base stations in all parts of Japan to support new services and improve service area quality for our customers' safe and comfortable life. When designing and building a new, safe and reliable base station, we observe the Radio Law, Building Standards Act and other relevant laws and regulations as well as municipal ordinances and guidelines. The installation work is carried out by an experienced, designated construction company under a thorough safety management scheme. In cases where the construction is expected to cause a nuisance or inconvenience to the residents in the neighborhood due to an increase in construction vehicle traffic and noise, or if we receive inquiries about the base station, we share general information about the base station and explain about the construction work to ensure their understanding and cooperation.

Safety of Radio Waves

KDDI's Approach (policy)

In compliance with the laws and regulations related to radio waves, we at KDDI offer our mobile phones and operate our mobile phone base stations in Japan at an electromagnetic wave level below the limits set at the Radio Radiation Protection Guidelines (RRPGs).

System

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications established the Radio Radiation Protection Guidelines (RRPGs), which serves as a standard in the use of radio and TV waves, and introduced regulations based on these guidelines. The RRPGs, equivalent to the international guidelines advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO), set the limits based on the results of studies conducted across nations with safety factors fully taken into account. It is commonly acknowledged among experts from WHO and other international institutions that electromagnetic wave exposures below the limits will not have any known consequence on health.
We at KDDI take great care to ensure that the radio waves from our mobile phone base stations poses no threat to safety. We design, build, maintain and periodically inspect our base stations in strict compliance with the relevant laws and regulations, including the RRPGs, stipulated in the Radio Law and the Building Standards Act, as well as local government ordinances. We also explain to residents in local communities that the radio waves transmitted from our base stations comply with RRPGs standards.
In addition, we offer mobile phones that comply with the permissible values for radiation strength and absorption by the human body stipulated in radio-wave-related laws and regulations while disclosing that information on our website.

Research That Ensures the Safety of Radio Waves

In November 2002, KDDI began conducting joint experiments with NTT DOCOMO Inc. and Soft Bank Corp., using human cells to evaluate the impact of radio waves for mobile phones on living organisms. Some results of the experiments were published in an interim report in 2005, and the final report issued in 2007 concluded that radio waves for mobile phones have no confirmed effect on living organisms at the cellular level or genetic level. This research serves as an example of scientific evidence that refutes claims that radio waves may cause cancer affecting cell structure and function. It also reaffirms the safety of radio waves emitted from mobile phone base stations.
KDDI also participates in and actively contributes to the research conducted by the Electromagnetic Environment Committee of the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) to study the safety of radio waves transmitted by mobile phones.
We will continue to actively collaborate with relevant organizations on research and testing on impacts of the radio wave frequencies used for mobile phones on the human body and on medical equipment. We also strive to stay updated about trends in research on safety of radio waves for mobile phones in Japan and abroad.
In addition, we will continue providing information about the safety of radio wave frequencies used for mobile phones on our website and other sources. When constructing mobile phone base stations, we make sure to provide adequate explanations in response to inquiries from local residents about radio waves safety to ensure their understanding and cooperation.

Organizations to Which KDDI Belongs or Is Giving Its Cooperation

Affiliation Electromagnetic environment committee of Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), Electromagnetic Compatibility Conference Japan
Affiliation The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) / EMC-net
Study Group on the Evaluation of Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields
Affiliation Japan national committee of the IEC / TC106 (Methods for the assessment of electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields associated with human exposure)
Working Group on the Evaluation of Electromagnetic Fields around Base Stations
Research cooperation Mobi-Kids Japan (study investigating the effects of mobile phones on health)

Providing a Convenient Usage Environment: Signal Support 24

As part of detailed quality improvement efforts for each customer, we offer Signal Support 24, an after-sales support service concerning signal-related problems, for all customers using au mobile phones.
In this service, KDDI staff visit the homes of customers who have inquired about signal quality and examine the reception conditions for au mobile phones. We contact the customers to set up an appointment within 24 hours of their inquiry, and then visit to check the signal and improve the signal quality using au Femtocells or au repeaters. We accept inquiries about signal quality not only in homes but also outdoors and in offices and restaurants.
In fiscal 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce the burden on customers, we introduced the use of equipment delivery depending on usage conditions. By visiting or delivering equipment, we proposed approximately 21,000 measures to improve signal qualities based on them.
Going forward, we will strive to further improve customer satisfaction with our services so that customers think "I'm glad that I chose au," and expand our service coverage.
Signal Support 24 is available also to customers using UQ mobile and povo.

Approach to Next-Generation High-Speed Communication

The mobile network that supports communication on smartphones and mobile phones has evolved from the first generation (1G) to the fourth generation (4G) together with changes in the times and lifestyle. We conducted research and development of the next-generation mobile communication system "5G" with an aim to provide communications services with greater stability and higher speed to customers and promote dramatic development of ICT network infrastructure, and on March 26, 2020, we launched the "au 5G" service. 5G networks are capable of higher speed and capacity, low latency and many simultaneous connections. By connecting everything via networks, beginning with smartphones and mobile phones, we will continue helping to build Society 5.0 (a creation-based society) as we create new services and solve social problems.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the need for the "new normal" in every aspect of industry and people's everyday life. To create resilient social infrastructure designed to help prevent any further spread of infections while supporting economic growth, digital transformation (DX) should be accelerated. With the concept "5G for everyone," we will be working with our partners in various industries to offer individual customers new ways of enjoying entertainment, sports, and art, among others, that suit the new normal, thereby making 5G available to as many people as possible. With regard to corporate customers, companies in various industries have increasingly adopted DX for different purposes of use, dramatically transforming their business models. We have the KDDI Digital Gate, which serves as a business development center in the age of 5G and IoT designed to assist customers with DX, along with the KDDI research atelier, which serves as a survey and applied research center that proposes a new lifestyle toward 2030. At these centers, we plan to work with our various partners to create business as well as the new customer experience unique to the age of 5G, and to help build robust and resilient infrastructure that is highly adaptable to change of environment.

Advancing Research on 5G

With the evolution of devices and the proliferation of IoTs, mobile networks are required to perform at much higher levels than expected before. KDDI will work on demonstration experiments with its partner companies to pursue business opportunities beyond industrial borders and fields of business through the fifth-generation mobile communications system "5G" with high speed, high capacity, low latency, and massive device connectivity.
We will actively roll out 5G services as basic next-generation infrastructure, develop businesses through co-creation with various partner companies, and promote open innovation that incorporates the innovative ideas and advanced technologies of start-ups. In this way, we will create new customer experience and actively utilize 5G services for regional revitalization businesses.
In September 2021, we began 5G (5G SA) communications tests in a standalone architecture in a commercial environment to provide services that take full advantage of the features of 5G.
In the future, the introduction of 5G SA will enable the use of network slicing and Multi access Edge Computing (MEC) that provides not only high-speed, high-capacity communications but also communication functions tailored to the applications and needs of each broad range of uses from entertainment to business domains, including XR applications, factory automation to collect sensor information and remote operations in the manufacturing industry, and autonomous driving and driving control in the traffic field.
In February 2022, we began offering 5G SA to corporate customers, and we will further develop our network slices for full-scale deployments, while contributing to the development of business with our customers.

Initiatives to Provide 5G SA services

Providing Service Environment outside Japan

The users of au smartphones and mobile phones can enjoy our voice and data communications services in 150 or more countries and regions around the world, including the World Data Flat service, which provides a data service at a flat rate. This is realized based on the partnerships with overseas telecommunications operators that we have cultivated in the course of providing international telephone services for more than 65 years.
Starting from February 2020, an early booking discount is applicable to the World Data Flat service when the service is booked in Japan before departure. No prior settings are required when using the service overseas.
KDDI will strive to continue to provide an environment where users can use our communications services securely and comfortably outside Japan.

Society
Safer and More Resilient Connected World