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- KDDI to launch au International Calling FLAT, offering voice calls to 23 countries and territories for a flat monthly fee
KDDI to launch au International Calling FLAT, offering voice calls to 23 countries and territories for a flat monthly fee
Print this Page―For a monthly fee starting at ¥980, customers can make up to fifty 15-minute calls per month at no extra charge―
No.2016-002
- KDDI CORPORATION
- Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company
January 7,2016
KDDI and Okinawa Cellular have announced plans to launch the au International Calling FLAT, which offers international calls for a flat monthly rate. Launched in March 2016, the service will be available to customers who subscribe to Kakeho (Unlimited Calling Plan) or Super Kakeho (Unlimited Calling Plan S) for domestic calls in Japan.
The au International Calling FLAT will be offered for a monthly fee of ¥980 (tax exempt) to customers who subscribe to the Flat-rate Data 5/8/10/13 service [1], or ¥1,480 (tax exempt) to customers who subscribe to the Flat-rate Data 2/3 service [1]. The service will provide great savings by enabling up to 50 voice calls per month at no extra charge [2], as long as each call is 15 minutes or less. For calls that are longer than 15 minutes, the same calling charge as for domestic calls (¥20/30 seconds) will be applied to the portion that exceeds 15 minutes. The areas covered by the service will include 23 countries and territories when the service is launched, with more to be added in the future. [3]
| Ranking | Countries and territories | Number of people (Persons) | Composition percentage (%) | Availability of the au International FLAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 656,403 | 30.2 | Yes |
| 2 | South Korea and North Korea | 497,707 | 22.9 | Yes (excluding North Korea) |
| 3 | Philippines | 224,048 | 10.3 | Yes |
| 4 | Brazil | 173,038 | 8.0 | Yes |
| 5 | Vietnam | 124,820 | 5.7 | Yes |
| 6 | USA | 51,523 | 2.4 | Yes |
| 7 | Nepal | 48,403 | 2.2 | Yes |
| 8 | Peru | 47,800 | 2.2 | Yes |
| 9 | Taiwan | 45,209 | 2.1 | Yes |
| 10 | Thailand | 44,175 | 2.0 | Yes |
<Foreign residents in Japan by nationality [4]>
| Ranking | Reasons | Percentage (%) (Multiple answers allowed) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Better voice quality | 46.3 |
| 2 | Calls can be made without other party's ID | 37.3 |
| 3 | Easier operation than other apps | 25.2 |
| 4 | Calls can be made with phone numbers | 19.4 |
| 5 | In the case of urgency | 14.5 |
<Reasons for making international calls on mobile phone [5]>
As of the end of June 2015, there were approximately 2.17 million foreign residents in Japan. The areas covered by the au International Calling FLAT will include the home countries of approximately 91% [4] of foreign residents in Japan, providing extensive coverage of their calling destinations.
According to research conducted by KDDI, customers who are foreign residents in Japan use methods such as free voice call apps to communicate abroad. However, they tend to use mobile phones in situations such as when audio quality is a priority, when the other party cannot use the app, or when an urgent matter needs to be discussed.
In addition, as more and more Japanese families have relatives who live or study abroad, and as companies increasingly send employees overseas, there is a growing demand for international phone call services from Japan.
With the launch of this service, KDDI aims to provide greater savings while making it easier than ever for customers to use their mobile phones to make international calls.
au International Calling FLATFor more details, see the Attachment.
Attachment：KDDI to launch au International Calling FLAT, offering voice calls to 23 countries and territories for a flat monthly fee