Panel seeks review to fees on low-cost smartphone firms

February 23, 2019

Tokyo--A Japanese government panel on Friday called for a review to connection fees imposed on low-cost smartphone service providers for the use of mobile phone carriers' communications networks.

In an outline of a planned interim report, the communications ministry's panel of experts on the mobile phone market also urged the carriers to lower their voice call service charges levied on low-cost smartphone companies.

The measures are expected to help the smartphone companies to lower their service rates for subscribers and improve their services such as unlimited calls.

Connection fees are calculated based on investment costs and the number of subscribers. But the outline urges the carriers to switch to a method to calculate the fees based on future cost estimates in fiscal 2020.

In order to check whether the fees are appropriate, the panel said the carriers should submit to the ministry a report on how their fees have been set at the current levels and disclose it. This reporting should start in fiscal 2019, the panel said.

The connection fees are on a declining trend. The measures in the outline are expected to push down low-cost smartphone service rates further.

Furthermore, the panel concluded that voice call service charges that low-cost smartphone providers pay to carriers need to be lowered to levels that do not discourage low-cost firms from offering unlimited calls.

The panel also advised the ministry to examine whether the voice call service charges are appropriate.

The outline also includes a proposal to set up a system to monitor mobile phone rate plans and the industry's consumer protection measures and fully start the system in fiscal 2020. Jiji Press