Wired
On May 25, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced the results of an international comparative survey of communication charges for smartphones and other devices. You can see that domestic smartphone charges have decreased compared to last year.
Compare communication charges in 6 cities around the world
The “Survey on Domestic and Foreign Price Differences Related to Telecommunications Services” released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is a compilation of comparison results of mobile phone, FTTH, and landline communication charges in six cities: Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Dusseldorf, and Seoul. is.
Similar findings have been published in the past and will be featured on iPhone Mania in 2014, 2018 and 2020.
Regarding smartphone charges, which are the focus of the survey, MNOs (4G and 5G) are compared with the top share operators, the top 3-4 share operators are the cheapest, and MVNOs are the top share operators.
Data traffic is 2GB, 5GB, 20GB, unlimited and average domestic usage model (monthly talk time 61 minutes), and prices are compared using purchasing power parity of OECD.
DoCoMo’s charges have dropped significantly for the second consecutive year
NTT DoCoMo (including ahamo) is used in Japan to compare charges for smartphone (4G) top-share operators.
Fares in Tokyo are 2GB, 5GB, unlimited, the third cheapest of the six cities, and 20GB, the second cheapest.
In the transition from 2014, the charges for Tokyo (red) for each capacity dropped slightly in the first year of Reiwa, and then dropped significantly in the second year of Reiwa.
The lowest price of 4 carriers, 20GB, the drop is noticeable
In Japan, the lowest rates for the top 3-4 operators of MNO (4G) are NTT DoCoMo (including ahamo), KDDI (including UQ mobile and povo), Softbank (including Y! Mobile and LINEMO), and Rakuten Mobile. The cheapest of the operator’s charges is used.
In the graph of Tokyo, the red bar shows the lowest price as of March 2021 and the pink bar shows the lowest price as of April 1, and you can see that the price is lower in April than in March.
As of April 1, Tokyo is the fourth cheapest at 2GB and 5GB, and the third cheapest at 20GB and unlimited (March).
Looking at the transition from FY2016 using purchasing power parity, it is conspicuous that the charge in Tokyo dropped significantly in FY2016 at 20GB.
MVNO charges are also declining noticeably
The rates of the top share operators in each city are used to compare the rates of MVNOs. In Japan, IIJ (Internet Initiative Japan) is applicable.
The red bar in Tokyo shows the price as of March 3rd year of Reiwa, and the pink bar shows the price as of April 1.
Compared as of March (red), 2GB, 5GB, and 20GB are the second highest charges in 6 cities, but on April 1st (pink), 2GB and 5GB are about 1,000 yen, and 20GB is about 3,000 yen. It is significantly cheaper.
Looking at the changes in MVNO charges from FY2016, Tokyo (as of March) is almost flat.
5G charges in Japan, relatively cheap
Among the top MNO (5G) operators, Tokyo is the second cheapest in the world with 2GB, 5GB and 20GB, and the fourth cheapest with unlimited.
It is the lowest price as of April 1 of the top MNO share operator, and when comparing the price in Tokyo, it is the third cheapest for 2GB and 5GB, and the second cheapest with unlimited 20GB.
Especially with 2GB, it is noticeable that the charge as of April 1 (pink) has decreased from that of March (red).
Certainly cheaper mobile charges
It can be seen that smartphone charges in Japan are declining due to the new rate plans (ahamo, povo, LINEMO) launched by the three major carriers in March 2021 and the movements of MVNO operators to counter them.
In 2018, the mobile phone charges that attracted attention after the statement by then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, “Japan’s mobile phone charges are too high, there is room for 40% reduction,” are compared with those at that time. You can see that it has become cheaper.
In the future, it is likely that attention will be focused on how widespread the new rate plan will be.
According to the survey results released by the MMD Research Institute the other day, NTT DoCoMo’s ahamo had the highest number of new / transfer contracts for the 2021 spring sales season.
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
(hato)
Source: iPhone Mania