OREANDA-NEWS. May 24, 2011. NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that two recently completed research projects conducted jointly with Japanese universities have demonstrated that mobile spatial statistics, or population statistics compiled from data used to provide mobile services, can provide useful information for planning disaster-prevention measures and urban development. If specific, practical applications are developed, it is envisioned that national and local governments will be able to use DOCOMO’s spatial statistics for planning in these fields.

 Mobile spatial statistics are aggregate data about mobile phone locations and user attributes. In the use of such statistics, individual users are never identified.

 A joint research project with Kogakuin University studied how DOCOMO’s mobile spatial statistics could support disaster-prevention planning. The project was conducted across Tokyo from November 22, 2010 to March 31, 2011. The results of the study showed that spatial statistics can be used to estimate the distribution of people who would have difficulties returning home if a major earthquake centered on Tokyo were ever to occur.

 The study focusing on urban planning, which was carried out with the University of Tokyo from November 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011, proved that mobile spatial statistics provided by DOCOMO can be used to evaluate suburb communities that relatively large populations of daily commuters compared to their current scale of public busing.

 The University of Tokyo and Kogakuin University will release the details of their respective studies with DOCOMO at future academic conferences.

 The studies were two of DOCOMO’s latest initiatives to contribute proactively to society through its mobile business.