We aim to research and develop Internet Infrastructure technology.
Japan is an extremely earthquake-prone country. Currently, most Japanese households rely on a single PPPoE session with a single ISP (Internet Service Provider), and in an emergency situation such as an earthquake, not only the line but also the ISP becomes a SPOF (Single Point of Failure).
During the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, voice communication was restricted and it was impossible to confirm the safety of people by phone. https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000124229.pdf
The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused a sharp increase in voice transmissions from users, resulting in congestion, which resulted in restrictions of up to 80%~90% for fixed-line phones and 70%~95% for cell phones. In particular, the communication restrictions on fixed-line phones (NTT East) were lifted in a relatively short period of time, while those on cell phones were intermittently enforced for several days. This is thought to be due to the fact that the number of cell phone users increased significantly compared to past earthquakes4 , and that many people used cell phones as a means to confirm their safety. On the other hand, with regard to packet communications on cell phones, either no restrictions were imposed, or even among carriers that did impose restrictions (NTT DoCoMo), the percentage was up to 30% and temporary, and connections were easier than with voice calls. Some mobile operators have introduced functions to improve packet communication in times of disaster, such as independent control of voice and packet communication. In the case of the recent earthquake, this function was utilized by each carrier, and compared to voice calls, which were restricted by up to 95%, packet communications such as e-mails were easier to communicate with. However, when looking at the arrival time of sent e-mails, it took longer than usual due to mail server congestion.
In the wake of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, packet-based telephone service has become the norm, but many Japanese users want cheaper Internet access, and the reality is that it is difficult to provide a highly resilient Internet in the face of price competition. In addition, most of the discounts are based on the combination of line and ISP, and it is difficult for ordinary households to contract multiple ISPs in case of disasters.
In order to provide high reliability and disaster resistance, it is necessary to install highly reliable equipment.
We will study the possibility of providing Japanese users and ISPs with a highly fault-tolerant gateway using BGP with multiple inexpensive single-board computers, and a network where users can supplement each other's Internet connectivity.
