Service development unique to JCOM, which develops Internet / mobile / cable TV-JCOM holds a new service presentation for autumn and winter

JCOM held a press conference on November 15th and announced a new service that will start from December 2021 to spring 2022. In addition to the MVNO brand J:COM MOBILE, J:COM NET (Internet), J:COM TV (cable TV) and other services unique to the company are available.

Start with the progress of J:COM NET. At the beginning of the presentation, President and Representative Director Yuzo Ishikawa said, "64% of condominiums, apartments, and other housing complexes in Japan do not have pipes suitable for fiber-optic lines. Optical fiber provides 1 Gbps, but inside the building is 100 Mbps. Sometimes it only comes out," he points out that the housing environment is a bottleneck.

Therefore, J:COM is developing DOCSIS 3.1, the latest cable TV data transfer method. By the end of fiscal 2021, we will appeal that up to 1 Gbps can be achieved in about 40% of the condominiums in the service area, and up to 10 Gbps can be achieved for detached houses.

For the home, we are introducing "Mesh Wi-Fi" that automatically builds the optimal Wi-Fi environment with cloud + AI. Over the past two years, user environments have improved throughput by an average of 223%, according to actual measurements. After that, in the spring of 2022, we announced that we will provide a modem equipped with band steering and channel steering functions in addition to the cloud + AI function.

The new plan “Okutoku NET” will be available from October 1st. With 1G/5G/10G settings for different communication speeds, the 1G course can be used from ¥5,258 per month.

And, from the spring of 2022, "J:COM LINK mini", which can be used free of charge (free rental) for a long time by contracting with a specified Internet video service (NETFLIX, J:COM Mega Pack VIDEO, etc.), is also scheduled to be introduced.

J:COM MOBILE, an MVNO service, will start "Gigamori Set" from February 2022. By using other J:COM services at the same time, the amount of data that can be used per month will be greatly increased. Mr. Ishikawa explains, "You can use a service that is 500 yen higher without changing the price. I think it will automatically apply to most customers."

The terminal lineup is also being expanded. J:COM MOBILE started 5G support in August. In addition to Android 5G terminals, it will also support iPhone 12 / iPhone 12 mini from October to November. In addition to bulk purchase, 24-time payment/36-time payment/48-time payment (iPhone 12 series only) is now available.

"If you pay 48 times, it will last for 4 years. In order to enhance the compensation plan, we also support AppleCare + for iPhone. The price is also reduced, and you can use it for 580 yen per month when using iPhone SE," said Mr. Ishikawa. Furthermore, by enhancing J:COM MOBILE's unique support, we would like to differentiate ourselves from other MVNO operators. Initial setting support, application "MY J:COM", Omakase support, etc. are available.

In addition, the surplus data communication volume is carried over to the next month, the downlink rate of 1 Mbps is maintained even after exceeding the capacity (10 GB / 20 GB course only), J: COM On Demand and J: COM Music are free of data communication volume, public Wi- We are aiming for services on par with MNOs, such as Fi support and voice options.

For next year's spring sales season, we will also start a discount service for young people. "U26 Young Discount" can be used for 1,078 yen per month for 1GB, and for the first 6 months, 5GB can be used for 550 yen, 10GB for 1,100 yen, and 20GB for 1,650 yen. It can also be used in combination with the aforementioned Gigamori Set, and will start on December 1st. In addition to the already available “Worker support U260%”, we have newly prepared “New life support!

Mr. Ishikawa continued to answer questions from the press.

When asked about the impact of the global shortage of semiconductors, "It is true that there are delays in delivery of various devices other than mobile phones. However, we have been procuring materials over a long span since about a year ago. The iPhone 12 series is also in short supply in the market, but we are procuring ahead of time in consultation with KDDI and Apple.I believe we can provide it without much delay."

Regarding the reduction in connection fees in April when MNOs provide lines to MVNOs, he said, “It has been decided that the government policy will continue to reduce connection fees at a constant rate. Based on the calculations, we have also introduced the Gigamori this time.” MNOs have reduced their fees and are stepping up their offensive by introducing low-cost online-only plans. Since then (the number of new J:COM MOBILE subscribers) has not dropped sharply.However, it is true that what was growing at a considerable pace has slowed down.A clear differentiation from other companies. We will continue to propose convenient services to our existing customers, many of whom are senior citizens," he said, demonstrating a competitive stance by strengthening services.

The number of mobile subscribers is not disclosed. However, he said, "I am proud that we are one of the major MVNOs."

Rakuten Mobile started a plan starting at 0 yen, but to the question, "To be honest, I've been paying close attention to how MNP moves to Rakuten. No. It's not a big number.I think Rakuten's targeting and our customers are different.I'm not letting my guard down.The combination of support, TV, Internet, and mobile provides different value than other companies. I would like to offer

On the background of increasing the data capacity instead of lowering the year, "I think that the tariff (communication service fee) has already decreased considerably. Subtracting 200 yen or 300 yen from that You can't really feel the value. That's why we came up with the Giga Sheng set this time."

J:COM MOBILE pointed out that purchasing an iPhone at J:COM MOBILE would cost a little less than 10,000 yen higher than Apple's direct sales. , I think it's value to reduce the burden on the customer."