D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) and NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced that DOCOMO has deployed a second quantum computing application in production using D-Wave technology, according to a press release from the companies.

The new application targets the optimization of tracking area lists, which group geographic areas within a mobile network. It reduced the daily peak volume of location registration signals by 65.3% and paging signals by 7.0%, lowering overall network signaling load.

In a representative test spanning 333 base stations, three tracking area lists, and nine tracking areas, the application completed its optimization in approximately five minutes. Results have been incorporated into DOCOMO's network planning and day-to-day operations.

DOCOMO's first D-Wave-powered production application focused on reducing paging signals within individual tracking areas. The new application addresses optimization across multiple tracking areas, balancing location registration and paging signals that typically move in opposite directions.

"With our second production application powered by D-Wave's hybrid quantum technology, we are applying quantum optimization to a broader and more complex area of network operations," said Hiroshi Kawakami, Senior Manager of Data Platform Department at NTT DOCOMO.

D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz said the results "demonstrate how D-Wave's annealing quantum computing technology can help operators improve network performance and efficiency today."

NTT DOCOMO serves more than 93 million subscribers and is described as Japan's largest mobile operator.