Cell phone service across a wide area of eastern Japan is either unavailable or it remains difficult to make connections.

Many calls to phones in the affected region are either directed to voicemail or a recorded message: "This is NTT DoCoMo. Due to the earthquake, the area you are dialling is difficult to reach."

To help alleviate the problems caused by destroyed or damaged cell phone towers, Japan's three major cellular carriers have sent mobile base stations to the region. The base stations connect to the telecom network via satellite and can provide coverage in the immediate surrounding area. Retail outlets of the cellular carriers are providing recharging services.

In Tokyo, cell phone service is significantly more reliable than it was on Friday evening, but sometimes calls don't connect.

Internet services appear to have been largely unaffected, although some websites are difficult to reach.