KDDI Corp. added 16 percent more customers in July, led by subscriptions to its high-speed network offering digital television and music downloads.
Japan's second-biggest mobile phone carrier had a net gain of 191,200 subscribers last month, compared with 165,000 a year earlier, it said Tuesday in a faxed statement. The total number of customers increased 11 percent to 28.9 million at the end of July from 26.1 million.
KDDI benefited from a regulatory change Oct. 24 that lets mobile users switch operators without altering their phone number. The company's total customer additions from October to June is three times that of market leader NTT DoCoMo Inc., and almost double the number at Softbank Corp., owner of Japan's third-largest carrier.
KDDI's faster au service gained a net 234,600 users last month.