NTT DoCoMo will trial a network of sensors to measure carbon emissions and other environmental and atmospheric metrics.
The Japanese operator said the sensors would be installed at its mobile base station sites, creating the largest of its kind in Japan.
It will begin a trial on December 21 using sensors in 300 locations within the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo. If successful, the network will be expanded to 2,500 locations nationwide by March 2011 and eventually to 9,000 locations.
Initially the network will offer data on pollen, followed later by monitoring of CO2, UV and other “atmospheric conditions”, in partnership with companies that specialize in those fields.
DoCoMo said it envisages demand for the data from weather forecasters, drug companies, healthcare firms, municipal governments and others.
The initiative reflected the company’s efforts to leverage its network “to create new value in sectors including environmental protection, safety, security and healthcare,” DoCoMo said.