KDDI to Launch Mobile Communications Plan for PCs

Japanese operator KDDI will launch a mobile data plan for PCs on 21 June. Called LTE Data Pre-paid, it is offered via the operator’s Mobile Communications Plan and is enabled by April 2018 Update. It will be available to subscribers of KDDI and its subsidiary Okinawa Cellular who have Intel-based eSIM-compatible PCs running Microsoft Windows 10 with the latest update, from April 2018.
 
LTE Data Pre-paid makes 4G/LTE high-speed data communications services over the au network (au being the brand name of KDDI’s consumer mobile service) available to domestic users in Japan. Users will not need to purchase a separate SIM card. Additionally, users of both au smartphones and eSIM-enabled PCs who contract for fixed-price data service can “data-share” via the au smartphone and take advantage of the data capacity already purchased. The service will cost JPY 1,500 (US $13.68) per GB, valid for 31 days.
 
The ever-increasing demand for mobile data services includes PCs as well as the more-frequently-used smartphones and tablets. As more and more people expect access to high-speed mobile data at all times and places, on all kinds of devices, the eSIM market constitutes a source of revenue that operators should take full advantage of.
 
Laptop users on the go can get their data from public or private Wi-Fi networks, or by tethering to their smartphones. However, Wi-Fi is often compromised by reduced speeds due to too many users on the network, and tethering has limitations in that PCs may have higher data demands than smartphones do and not all smartphones are capable of being tethered. The eSIM technology, on the other hand, enables laptops to receive data directly from a cellular source. And given the fact that functionalities used on PCs can demand a great deal of high-speed data, we think that operators such as KDDI stand to earn a good deal of revenue from it.
 
Making LTE data available via eSIMs on compatible PCs, therefore, is a good move for MNOs, and doing it on a prepaid, per-gigabyte basis makes a lot of sense. In this case, the pricing is at a reasonable rate. Finally, the data-sharing feature of this offering is likely to be very appealing to subscribers who are already au users, in that they can apportion data allowances that they have already paid for across the two platforms—i.e., smartphone and PC. It would be a wise for operators to introduce offerings such as this one for a greater range of laptops and operating systems.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.  

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

KDDI to Launch Mobile Communications Plan for PCs

Japanese operator KDDI will launch a mobile data plan for PCs on 21 June. Called LTE Data Pre-paid, it is offered via the operator’s Mobile Communications Plan and is enabled by April 2018 Update. It will be available to subscribers of KDDI and its subsidiary Okinawa Cellular who have Intel-based eSIM-compatible PCs running Microsoft Windows 10 with the latest update, from April 2018.
 
LTE Data Pre-paid makes 4G/LTE high-speed data communications services over the au network (au being the brand name of KDDI’s consumer mobile service) available to domestic users in Japan. Users will not need to purchase a separate SIM card. Additionally, users of both au smartphones and eSIM-enabled PCs who contract for fixed-price data service can “data-share” via the au smartphone and take advantage of the data capacity already purchased. The service will cost JPY 1,500 (US $13.68) per GB, valid for 31 days.
 
The ever-increasing demand for mobile data services includes PCs as well as the more-frequently-used smartphones and tablets. As more and more people expect access to high-speed mobile data at all times and places, on all kinds of devices, the eSIM market constitutes a source of revenue that operators should take full advantage of.
 
Laptop users on the go can get their data from public or private Wi-Fi networks, or by tethering to their smartphones. However, Wi-Fi is often compromised by reduced speeds due to too many users on the network, and tethering has limitations in that PCs may have higher data demands than smartphones do and not all smartphones are capable of being tethered. The eSIM technology, on the other hand, enables laptops to receive data directly from a cellular source. And given the fact that functionalities used on PCs can demand a great deal of high-speed data, we think that operators such as KDDI stand to earn a good deal of revenue from it.
 
Making LTE data available via eSIMs on compatible PCs, therefore, is a good move for MNOs, and doing it on a prepaid, per-gigabyte basis makes a lot of sense. In this case, the pricing is at a reasonable rate. Finally, the data-sharing feature of this offering is likely to be very appealing to subscribers who are already au users, in that they can apportion data allowances that they have already paid for across the two platforms—i.e., smartphone and PC. It would be a wise for operators to introduce offerings such as this one for a greater range of laptops and operating systems.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.  

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Toyota, Komeda, KDDI Launch Traffic Safety Smartphone App

Toyota Motor Corporation, Komeda, and KDDI have launched a smartphone application dubbed “Driving Barista.” The app is designed to reduce the number of traffic accidents in Aichi Prefecture which are caused by drivers using their smartphones while driving. The traffic safety initiative involving the app will be carried out and jointly promoted by the three partners. The Driving Barista app can only be used within Aichi Prefecture. Leveraging the gyro sensor to sense the tilt of the smartphone body and the GPS to determine the distance driven, the app measures the distance the driver has driven while leaving the smartphone facedown. When the cumulative distance reaches 100 km, the driver will receive a coupon for a cup of blended or iced coffee at a Komeda Coffee Shop.

  

This anti-distracted-driving initiative is noteworthy in that the purpose-built app that implements it was developed in partnership with a mobile operator, KDDI. While Driving Barista’s free coffee in exchange for 100 km driven without using a smartphone may not seem particularly exciting, the idea of promoting driver safety is a good one, and for an MNO to participate in such an initiative stands to raise the company’s profile among the public. The cross promotion with a major automobile manufacturer like Toyota also should benefit the operator in terms of brand strengthening. If the app is available to all users regardless of whether they are KDDI subscribers, the initiative could very well have the collateral effect of driving new subscriptions to the operator.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. 

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com