InterBEE REVIEW2011 (EN)

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64convenience for users. The wireless internet connectivity of digital home appliances, such as AV equipment and game consoles, is also increasing. Additionally, with the spread of mobile phones we have now reached a stage where anyone can easily link to networks.” “As we move forward to an environ-ment in which there is an increase in distribution and use of rich contents accessible to mobile phones and wire-less devices, by 2020 it is expected that the quality and volume of radio wave use will expand explosively, with predicted traffic more than 200 times greater than it is today. The utilization of V-High and V-Low band frequencies is an attempt to utilize the frequency bands vacated by the end of analog broadcasting in response to the expan-sion in radio wave use. V-Low band frequencies are also being used for community broadcasting and I expect that this will lead to new uses for radio that has never before been imagined.” “I very much believe so. The emer-gency evacuation broadcasts made through the Municipal Disaster Man-agement Radio Communication Net-work at the time of the disaster were of vital assistance in urging people to evacuate, and as a result saved many lives. However, the actual broadcast-ing stations themselves were affected by the disaster and there were broad-casters who fell victim to the tsunami, like Ms. Miki Endo in Minami-Sanriku. Ms. Endo has been lauded by everyone in the country for her incredible brav-ery, but it is truly a tragedy that this young woman, who was about to get married, lost her life in the disaster in such a way.” “In addition, Municipal Disaster Management Radio Communication Network broadcasts information via loudspeakers, which makes it difficult to hear as the noise is reflected by buildings and mountains, etc. In response to the recent disaster the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Com-munications has unveiled a new direc-tion for disaster-related announce-ments, known as “Radio for Safety and Security,” which is intended to supple-ment the functions of the Municipal Disaster Management Radio Communi-cation Network. The Community Simul Radio Alliance (CSRA) is currently implementing a pilot test in line with this new direction to establish the potential for digital community broad-casting, based on a model project in the Sagami Bay area. In emergency situations the radio automatically switches on, making it is possible to see the emergency broadcast content as characters displayed on the push-button style receiving terminal. This enables various people, including those with hearing difficulties, to receive the emergency broadcast con-tent they would otherwise miss.”“This is a system that could be used not just at the instant when disaster strikes, but also for providing evacua-tion information, the location of shel-ters, and information about food and water distribution. Thus, this system can provide important information Implementation of pilot testsfor digital community broadcasting■Will lessons from the Great East Japan 　Earthquake be used to improve 　community broadcasting?

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