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Major mobile carriers’ basic charge structure
If you apply for a regular plan (two-year contract), charge structure consist of 3 basic charges which are
- Basic Charge
- Internet usage charge
- Data flat rate plan
Basic Charge
Basic charge is simply conversation charge.
If you make a contract with mobile carrier, you will be give phone number with 11 digits
This charge is incurred when you make a call to someone with given phone number. It costs you averagely about 2000yen to 3000yen on monthly basis.
There are several unique discount plans for this basic charge depending on the major mobile carrier. For example, SoftBank provides a plan that the first 5 minute conversation costing you free.
Data flat rate plan
This data flat plan is a charge for amount of data you use a month. The bigger data is, the longer time you can browse internet and the heavier apps you can install.
There are several plans to choose depending on how much data you use a month. If you use up all amount of data that you have applied within a month, various restriction will be reflected on your mobile like online connecting speed gets very slow and you can’t install specific apps at the time used data amount exceed. It costs you around 3000yen to 7000yen
And additional charge will be incurred on excess amount of data.
Internet usage charge
This charge is incurred when you use internet or email with an email address given by a mobile carrier. It costs you 300yen monthly
This charge is distinguished from data flat rate plan.
You can buy a mobile at an agent
You can also buy a mobile at an agent shop of a major mobile carirrer. For example, if you buy a mobile at an agent shop, you can choose lump sum payment or monthly payment.
Monthly payment is like a loan style payment. You make a contract that your payment is completed for 2 years. This payment is added on other communication charges on monthly basis.
Even if you terminate a contract of a regular plan, if your mobile’s payment is not completed, you continue payment althogh you change another mobile carirer.
Pros
If you choose monthly payment, you can get mobile much cheaper than you get by lump sum payment. For example, recently I bought iphone 8. If had bought this by lump sum payment, it would have costed me more than 100,000yen.
But I chose monthly payment and it costs me 70,000 yen in total. So I only pay 70,000 yen in total through payment over 24 months.
Cons
Firstly, a mobile locks sim card not to activate other mobile carrier’s sim card. After 100 days from the day you make a contract, you can apply for unlocking procedure.
If you make a lump sum payment on the spot at an agent shop, this unlocking procedure can be applied on the day. However if you choose monthly payment, you need to wait for 100 days until you apply for unlocking procedure.
If you terminate a contract of basic plan within 100 days from the day you make a contract, you fall in the situation where you can make no contract with any mobile carrier until 100 days passes because your mobile still locks sim.
Even after your mobile is unlocked, as long as your payment type is monthly payment, your payment continues until payment is completed although you change to another mobile carrier.
You can make a lump sum payment to pay off the rest of bills half-way.
How long do I need to continue a contract?
An answer to the question on the above subtitle is
you can terminate a contract whenever you want but you need to burden cancellation charges.
In Japan, you basically continue a contract under one mobile carrier over a long period of time. Because Japanese mobile carrier’s payment structure adopts a payment system that prevents contractees from changing another mobile career.
2 year-contract
Basically, major mobile carriers provide 2 years contract. During this contract, your payment is withdrawn from your bank account by direct debit monthly in accordance with contract plan.
During this contract term, you can terminate a contract but in that case, a penalty charge will be incurred. It costs you about 3000yen to 10000yen.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| 3000yen tp 10000yen | 0yen |
Contract renewal term is a grace period that you decide to continue contract or terminate a contract and change mobile carrier. This contract renewal term is given for 2 months.
If you don’t terminate a contract during this term, you are regarded as continuing a contract and it will be renewed automatically. After this contract renewal term passes, if you terminate a contract, terminate charge will be incurred because you are in the next contractual term. If you want to terminate for free, you need to wait until the next contract expiry.
Moreover, if you buy a mobile at an agent shop of major mobile carriers at the same time you make a contract there, the mobile is locked not to accept other sims but only accept sims of a mobile carrier you make a contract with for 100 days.(If you pay by cash on the spot at an agent, unlocking procedure can be applied on the day. But you choose monthly payment, you need to wait 100 days until unlocking procedure is allowed.)
| Within 100 days (of sim locked term) | After 100 days(of sim locked term) |
|---|---|
| Unlocking procedure is not allowed | Unlocking procedure can be applied |
| You can’t change another mobile carrier until 100 days passes from the day you make a contract | You can change another mobile carrier after going through unlocking procedures. |
If you buy a mobile at and make a contract with a specific mobile carrier, you are supposed to continue contract for at least 100 days. If you terminate a contract within 100 days, your mobile is not allowed to make a contract with another mobile carrier because your mobile lock to accept another mobile carriers during this term.
So the first 3 months (100days) are compulsory contract term that you must keep contract.
How about prepaid sim
There are some prepaid sims sold by subsidiary of major mobile carriers. However, in even a case where you buy pre-paid sim at an electronics store,
you need to make a contract. Which means, if you terminate a contract during contractual period, a penalty charge will be incurred
Prepaid sim card which you can buy in Japan is not disposable sim. This prepaid sim card is
continuous renewal type sim under a basic contract
For example, if you buy a prepaid sim card, you are supposed to make a basic contract simultaneously. This basic contract has contractual period. If you terminate a contract during this contractual period, penalty charge will be incurred.
During validity term of a contract, you will repeat making additional purchases of pre-paid sim data as often as you use up the amount of pre-paid data you bought. This is prepaid sim card system in Japan.
A basic contract’s period is mostly 6 months to 1 year. Thanks to this system, you will not be able easily to change into another mobile carrier’s prepaid sim unless you ignore cancellation penalty charge.
By the way, the penalty charge will be usually 10000 yen to 20000 yen as much as you can buy the cheapest prepaid plan 3 times. You understand nobody will change to another mobile carrier but accept and keep using the first contract mobile carrier.
If you don’t want to pay this penalty charge, you cannot help continuing contract until its expiry. Its payment is by direct debit.
There are some types of pre-paid sims that you don’t need to contract with but…
There are some pre-paid sims you can get amazon or other online shops. If you buy those pre-paid sim cards, you don’t need to make a specific contract with a company selling this sim.
If you insert sim directly into your mobile, it will be activated. However, so many restrictions are placed on functions of sim. Firstly, although you are given a unique phone number with 11 digits, you can’t make a call to someone. In most cases, this phone number is just for receiving a call from someone who call you.
Only the functions you can use proactively is using internet. However, the amount of date you can use a day is limited and if you go beyond the limitation, internet connection speed gets very slow.
You can’t expect perfect mobile functions with this sim.
Basic Charge