Japan may see a fresh round of price cuts on its mobile services following the rollout of new tariffs by its second largest Operator, KDDI. KDDI announced the new unlimited monthly voice and data plan - Super Kakeho (Unlimited Calling Plan S), leading to expectation that rivals, Softbank and its largest Operator, NTT DOCOMO, will be cutting down the rates on their services in due course.
The move by KDDI saw the share prices of all three Operators dipping following the announcement last Friday, fueled further by the call by Japanese Prime Ministor Shinzo Abe on Monday to Mobile Operators to bring down mobile rates in the country.
The new Super Kakeho is priced at 1,700 yen a month, down from 2,700 yen for the previous plan, Kakeho. Under the new Super Kakeho, subscribers can enjoy unlimited free domestic calling for calls of five minutes or less and on tiered data. Callers are charged 20 yen per 30 seconds if their calls last longer than five minutes.
| Rate plan | Monthly charges | Domestic calling charges | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Kakeho(Unlimited Calling Plan S) | ¥1,700 | Calls lasting 5 minutes or less | Free [1](Unlimited calls) |
| Calls that last longer than 5 minutes | ¥20/30 seconds | ||
| Kakeho(Unlimited Calling Plan) | ¥2,700 | Free [1](Unlimited calls) | |
