July 3, 2023 Publication of the Second Report of the Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency and Results of Solicitation for Opinions

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) now releases the second report compiled by the Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency (chaired by AIDA Hitoshi, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo).

1. Overview

In September 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) organized the Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency. The Study Group examined intercarrier roaming*, a system that allows mobile phone users to temporarily use other carriers’ networks to secure communication during emergencies.
As a draft of the second report was prepared by the Study Group, MIC solicited opinions on the draft from Wednesday, May 24 through Thursday, June 15, 2023, and received nine submissions.
Based on these opinions and the results of discussions at the ninth meeting (held on Friday, June 30, 2023), the second report of the Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency has been finalized, and MIC has decided to release the same.

• *
  Intercarrier roaming is a mechanism for intercarrier network interoperability that allows mobile phone users to temporarily use other carriers’ networks if mobile phone service is disrupted in times of disaster or equipment failure.

2. Publicly disclosed material

• 1.
  Attachment 1 in PDF: Second Report of Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency
• 2.
  Attachment 2 in PDF: Results of solicitation for opinions on the draft of the second report of the Study Group on Roaming Among Service Providers in a Time of Emergency

• *
  The published materials are in Japanese only.