NTT Docomo fails to send earthquake alert via Area Mail
A system fault stopped NTT Docomo from delivering the October 16 earthquake early warning, and alerts may keep failing until it is fixed.
NTT Docomo said on October 16 that it was unable to deliver an Earthquake Early Warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency at around 12:40 p.m. that day through its Area Mail service, according to japan.cnet.com.
The operator attributed the failure to a fault in its own system and said Area Mail messages may not be delivered in some cases until the problem is resolved. The areas affected were Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Kanto, Koshin, Tokai and the Izu Islands.
Docomo said it has identified the cause of the fault and is working to restore the service. The company is urging users to be aware that earthquake early warnings and other alerts may not arrive until the issue is fixed.
The warning itself was a false alarm: the Japan Meteorological Agency estimated the epicentre in the Kuril Islands and the magnitude at 9.9.
Quick answers
Which areas were affected by the NTT Docomo Area Mail failure?
Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Kanto, Koshin, Tokai and the Izu Islands.
Why did NTT Docomo fail to send the alert?
The company says the cause was a fault in its own system, and it is working to restore the service.