KDDI’s new mobile plan with no basic fee and fully customizable

KDDI has upgraded its “povo” mobile service to 2.0, which can only be contracted online, and unveiled a new fully customizable service with no monthly basic fee.

Before KDDI, Rakuten Mobile was the first to introduce a plan with no basic fee. The company, which entered the industry as Japan’s fourth mobile carrier, launched a revolutionary rate plan in April that offers up to 1GB free every month.

This is where “povo2.0” comes in. Its basic fee is free, voice calls are metered at ¥22 ($0.2) per 30 seconds, and the data rate is capped up to 128 kbps. The flat rate for calling and high-speed data volume can be purchased like a pay-as-you-go plan, allowing users to assemble the services they need.

Customization choices include 1GB for 7 days, 3GB for 30 days, 150GB for 180 days, etc. Unlimited data for 24 hours can be added for ¥330 ($3). As an example of usage, KDDI cited a hybrid work scenario where a person works from home and goes to the office, making it suitable for usage where mobile data consumption may vary on a weekly basis.

Also, KDDI will collaborate with au PAY, a payment app that KDDI is focusing on. The company will launch a campaign to give data volume as a bonus when customers use au PAY to make purchases at specific stores.

Point rewards are a common marketing method in the country, but KDDI seems to be interested in giving data volume like points.

The company also revealed that povo has 0.9 million users. This may seem a bit low compared to rival NTT DOCOMO’s ahamo, which has over 1.8 million users, but in reality it’s not seen as a big problem as KDDI’s mid-range brand UQ mobile is adding more subscribers.

According to KDDI, povo2.0 will be targeted at a slightly more literate user base as an online-only, fully customizable service. Together with the top-tier brand au and the mid-range UQ mobile, KDDI is completing multi-brand services with the backbone that covers the entire country.