KDDI and Softbank Add More Subscribers Than NTT DoCoMo

Japan's biggest mobile phone carrier, NTT DoCoMo didn't manage to lure as many subscribers as its smaller rivals, KDDI and Softbank, who attracted customers by offering smaller prices and better handsets. KDDI Corp. gathered around 297,500 new subscribers, followed by Softbank Mobile Corp. with 97,000. Compared to these two, NTT DoCoMo added a net 87,600 service contracts this month. And it’s no wonder why KDDI attracts new customers, with the mobile phones with attractive features that they are currently offering, while Softbank is cutting prices as each day passes by.

In November last year, DoCoMo had its first monthly net loss of users since starting operations in 1993; but - according to them - their marketing and handsets drew subscribers in December. "The introduction of new handsets and the focus on advertisements enabled the company to get a slice of net additions of subscribers,'' Masanori Goto, a DoCoMo spokesman, said today by telephone.

In October, NTT DoCoMo announced it would start selling 14 new mobile phones for its faster third-generation FOMA network, out of which eleven will work with the company's music download service and five will allow the user to transfer tracks via PC and listen to music. By comparison, KDDI has been offering a full-song downloading service for over 17 month, being the first in Japan to do so. By also providing 12 new handsets in September, KDDI managed to round up new customers faster than the other two companies, NTT DoCoMo and Softbank.

Softbank is trying to attract customers in a completely different way, by keeping prices lower then the ones found at the rival companies, and even promoting the mobile service with an advertising campaign that featured a zero yen slogan.

The advertising campaign was followed by complaints from KDDI and DoCoMO, who claimed that the promotion might mislead some consumers. Nevertheless, Softbank announced the further cut of prices, dropping the cheapest basic service to 980 yen ($8.18) a month, while DoCoMo's lowest-price plan so far will cost you 3,780 yen a month, including free calls or messages worth 1,050 yen. KDDI offers pretty much the same as DoCoMo, price-wise, for its WIN service users.

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