DoCoMo Improves Family Plan Discount

DoCoMo President Masao Nakamura announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday that the company will offer a new family-plan package, from August 22, reducing monthly fees in a bid to retain dominant market share. The new Fami-wari MAX plan will enable each subscriber in a family to receive the discount rate of the longest-subscribing family member, or a maximum of 50% for subscribers who have been with DoCoMo for at least 11 years.

Currently more than 70% of DoCoMo’s total subscribers subscribe to the Family Discount billing plan and the company noted the new package will cost an estimated 20 billion yen ($162 million) in lost sales this fiscal year in order to attract up to 5 million new customers. Cancellation during the required two-year contract term will incur a penalty of 9,975 yen.