Mobile phone operator KDDI Corp. said Monday it will slash as much as ¥24,000 a year from subscription fees to win over customers from NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Softbank Corp.
Users aged over 50 years who are switching from a rival provider or signing up with KDDI for the first time and paying by installment will get the biggest savings, the carrier said. Any customer who pays for a new handset by installment will save as much as ¥9,000 a year, KDDI said.
It started installment plans in June that helped the company reduce costs for handset subsidies and cope with lower revenue after cutting service charges to lure users from DoCoMo and Softbank. KDDI lagged behind its rivals in user additions in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.
The price-cut campaign starts Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 31, KDDI said. The company will also release seven new handsets from the first half of next month, including a Casio Computer Co. model featuring its Exilim camera.