Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
How much does your Apple iPhone 3G cost you every month? I bet it is more than the Japanese are paying...
In Japan, like so many markets, there is only one carrier as far as the
Apple iPhone 3G is concerned. All too often this kind of monopolistic
mobile phone offering can lead to prices that are less than consumer
friendly.
However, the same cannot be said of Japanese
carrier Softbank Mobile which has taken the concept of a consumer
friendly monopoly to new lows. Literally.
Softbank Mobile has announced
that "in order to make Apple's iPhone 3G available to an even larger
public" it is to revise the ‘Packet Flat-rate Full’ pricing plans it
operates.
The revisions will add two ceilings to the plan, and the fixed charge
will vary according to individual usage, but the bottom line appears to
be that after August Japanese iPhone 3G users will be able to enjoy
their Jesus Phone for as little as YEN 2,990 (AUD $32) a month.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but a quick look around the world of global
pricing plans for the iPhone would suggest that this makes Japan the
cheapest place on the planet when it comes to monthly iPhone 3G ownership costs.
It is all rather complicated though, not least due to my poor Japanese and
the sometimes confusing translations to English of press releases and
quotes. However, it would appear that Japanese iPhone 3G users can get
the following for their small monthly outlay:
Unlimited domestic voice calls between 1:00 and 21:00 to other SoftBank handsets
24 hours free sending/receiving of mail to all operators
Unlimited use of web browsing, video services and map services
Of course, all this comes in the face of other Japanese carriers
lowering payment plan rates, particularly those relating to data
transfer, in order to fight off the Apple iPhone 3G threat.
NTT DoCoMo, the undisputed mobile market leader in Japan, has already announced similar cost service plans for example.
Still, price wars are good news as far as I am concerned. Here's hoping
they filter across to Australia, the UK and USA real soon now...
David Bass
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