SoftBank Announces iPhone 3G Service Plans
- Purchase of iPhone 3G 8GB model at approximately ¥23,000, ¥960/month,
and unlimited packet usage at ¥5,985 -
TOKYO, June 23, 2008 --- SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Masayoshi Son; hereinafter ‘SBM’) will provide Apple’s iPhone™ 3G from July 11, 2008 (Friday) and has determined the applicable price plan.
The price plan provided for iPhone 3G will be ‘White Plan (i)’. It offers free domestic voice calls between SoftBank handsets from 1:00 to 21:00 and a SoftBank original mail service with receipt notification ‘Email(i)’ for free. Other basic price plans such as the ‘Blue Plan (i)’ (12 in total) and the ‘Orange Plan (i)’ (10 in total) will also be offered in order to enable customers to subscribe to their preferred price plan*1.
A new service - ‘Packet Flat-rate Full’ (¥5,985/month) - enabling customers full access to web browsing, video and map services regardless of the communication charges and making the most of iPhone 3G’s revolutionary features will be introduced. Subscribers can enjoy the Internet as freely in their hand as on a PC at competitive rates. In addition to the basic price plan iPhone 3G users will be required to subscribe to ‘Packet Flat-rate Full’ and ‘S! Basic Pack (i)’ (¥315/month).
Outline of White Plan (i)
- Basic monthly charge
- ¥980/month
- Domestic voice call charges
- free domestic voice calls between SoftBank handsets from 1:00 to 21:00*2
- Service
- E mail (i)*3
A free SoftBank original mail service with receipt notification functionality provided specifically to iPhone 3G. The user is allocated a “xxxxx@i.softbank.jp” mail address.
Image of White Plan (i) Subscribers’ Monthly Payment
| White Plan (i) basic monthly charge | ¥980 |
|---|---|
| Packet Flat-rate Full fixed charge | ¥5,985 |
| S! Basic Pack (i) | ¥315 |
| Total ¥7,280 | |
For ¥7,280 a month one can enjoy unlimited domestic voice calls between 1:00 and 21:00 to SoftBank handsets, 24 hours free sending/receiving of mail to all operators, unlimited use of packet communication such as web browsing and video services and map services as much as one likes on iPhone 3G.
A number of option services will also be provided in an economic package as ‘Basic Option Pack (i)’ at ¥498/month, ¥735/month if subscribed to separately. The content is as follows:
| Voice mail (i) | Saves up to ninety 3-minute messages for a week in the voice call service center. Also, supports the iPhone original Visual Voice Mail function which displays the saved messages as a list of mails and allows the selection of messages you want to replay (normal ¥315/month). |
|---|---|
| Call waiting | Get another incoming call while already talking (normal ¥210/month) |
| Group Calling | Place another call while talking on the phone and then switch between six calls maximum (normal ¥210/month) |
iPhone 3G will be sold at shops handling SoftBank phones. When purchased as a new subscription in a SoftBank shop (directly managed store) under a New Super Bonus (installment payments) contract the actual customers’ payment (the difference between the installment payment and Special Discount which is subtracted from the basic monthly charge etc.) will look as follows*4:
8GB Model (black)
| Installment payment | ¥2,880×24 months |
|---|---|
| Special Discount | ¥1,920×24 months |
| ¥960×24 months = ¥23,040 | |
16GB Model (black/white)
| Installment payment | ¥3,360×24 months |
|---|---|
| Special Discount | ¥1,920×24 months |
| ¥1,440×24 months = ¥34,560 | |
In combination with the launch of the iPhone 3G a 90 day free telephone-support period (1 solution) is scheduled to be provided to customers who purchased iPhone 3G. Moreover, in order to provide generous support equivalent to the other Apple products, the introduction of a paid-for phone support service is also being considered. Further details will be announced as soon as they have been decided on.
SBM will further strive to promote the integration of the Internet and mobile phone and provide innovating mobile internet services to the customers.
About iPhone 3G
iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast*5 as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.
- *S! Mail cannot be used on iPhone 3G.
- *White Plan Student Discount is not applicable to iPhone 3G.
- *iPhone 3G uses a special USIM, in case of upgrading models (additional handset) there is a need to change to the specialised USIM. This USIM can only be used with iPhone 3G.
- *1Voice call charges etc. on all new plans are exactly the same as existing price plans, “E mail (i)” is an additional service that can be used.
- *2Domestic voice calls to other operators’ handset is ¥21/30sec.
- *3‘Tada Tomo Mail’ is not applicable to E mail (i) addresses.
- *4Statements concerning the New Super Bonus (installment payments) relate to the installment contracts and special discount to the basic monthly charge provided by SBM, the statements do not stipulate the handset retail price. The retail price of the handset is fixed by the sales agencies. Purchase without using New Super Bonus (installment payments) by lump-sum payment, other installments or credit card payments etc. remain as existing options.
- *5Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
- * © 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh and iPhone are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
- * White Plan, Blue Plan, Orange Plan, S! Basic Pack, Super Bonus and S! Mail are registered trademarks or trademarks of SOFTBANK MOBILE.
- * SOFTBANK, the SOFTBANK name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SOFTBANK CORP. in Japan and other countries.
