-- Relationship between PHS and Shikoku Electric --

Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. (SEPCO) is an electric utility company located on the southernmost island in Japan. Their main business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to the four prefectures on Shikoku Island. SEPCO also has several investments and major subsidiaries in non-utility companies that include an ISP, a cable operator, an information provider, a consulting firm, a research institute and a mobile phone carrier, Astel Shikoku. As a major shareholder of Astel Shikoku, SEPCO has been engaged in leveraging the Astel network toward new business areas.

OpenPLANET

The OpenPLANET Project, which commenced in 1996, has been an integral part of SEPCO's strategy for utilizing the existing PHS network for data communications. OpenPLANET provides intelligent communications and connectivity through its Gateway (embedded into the electric Watt-hour meter) to every electronic device in a home or business. The OpenPLANET system uses the existing power-line carrier (PLC) to build a local network without the need for new wiring. The PLC and the electric devices are connected to the Gateway to create a smart network. The Gateway serves as a bridge between this local network and the outside world. Communications between the Gateway and the outside world can be realized through several communications technologies. In the current system, the Gateway communications module is based on the PHS format. Astel's PHS network provides the last-mile solution from the Gateway to the OpenPLANET Network Operations Center (NOC). The NOC is connected to a WAN (e.g., the Internet) to application service providers (ASPs), local government agencies, manufacturers and utility companies. The OpenPLANET platform allows companies to deliver numerous telemetry e-services such as home security, location-based services, home-based care and energy management services.

Advantages of PHS communications for OpenPLANET

SEPCO engineers selected the PHS communication method for several reasons. Foremost was the network presence in the main population-hubs on Shikoku Island. This has reduced the investment needed to communicate to each residential home and business. PHS technology offers a very significant feature in terms of cost, the "Transceiver Mode." Unique to PHS, it allows short-distance *1 communication between two PHS units at no costs. This is a key feature of the OpenPLANET system, which allows for a greater amount of flexibility in the delivery of services. Under a conventional communications system, the services must be broadcast to each home, and data from each home is returned directly to the originator. For example, in the application of Automatic Meter Reading (AMR), the PHS system is able to compliment OpenPLANET's "Software Agent" technology. A software agent is transmitted by the utility to the first home via the PHS network. The software agent's programming will perform several tasks such as reading the meter data, checking for tampering, performing meter diagnostics or even providing the customer with quick and accurate billing. Once the meter has been read in the first home, the Gateway will transmit the software agent to the next home via the PHS unit using transceiver mode. This transmission from house to house or apartment to apartment does not incur any communications costs. As land prices in Japan are very high, homes and apartments are often located close to each other, well within the range of the transceiver mode radius. The meter reading will continue from Gateway to Gateway until the software agents have completed its meter reading task. The final home to be read will transmit the software agent to the utility company. In short, the transmission costs incurred during the first read and the last read. The utility is now able to extract the data from the software agent and import it into the billing system.

About OpenPLANET field test

SEPCO believes that the Internet appliance and home networking market will reach its true potential through the partnership between manufacturers, ASPs, local government, and utilities. The diagram below illustrates SEPCO's proposed business model for the residential market. Following this model SEPCO will manage the field test, thus ensuring the system's integrity and efficiency. Working with group companies, SEPCO will install the new Gateway meter into the monitor's home and provide a thin-client *2 for accessing the system. The field test will eventually encompass 1,000 homes in the city of Takamatsu and surrounding towns. SEPCO expects to conclude the field test in March 2002.

*1. About 200 meters in optimal conditions
*2. OPBoard