Japan's Mobile Fees Rise as Carriers Bundle Extras and Face Higher Network Costs

Higher bills arrive with more data and new services

Japan's biggest mobile carriers are raising some monthly fees after years of intense price competition. As of September 3, 2025, KDDI and NTT Docomo have increased charges on major plans, while SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile say they have no plans to change their core prices for now.

KDDI raised monthly charges for major au plans in August by 220 or 330 yen, about $1.50 or $2.20, while adding satellite data communication and other functions. Docomo increased the price of its main plans in June by about 1,100 yen, around $7.40, and bundled access to a sports streaming service.

UQ Mobile, KDDI's budget brand, is next. Its monthly fees are due to rise in November by 110 or 220 yen, about $0.70 or $1.50, alongside higher data allowances. The changes give customers a practical calculation: whether the extra services are worth the extra money.

Electricity costs, network spending and growing data use are driving the increases. Carriers also face pressure to pay for security, disaster readiness and new connections between satellites and mobile phones. Adding benefits gives them a way to make higher bills more attractive while collecting more revenue to support their networks.

The changes follow a government push earlier in the decade for cheaper mobile services and new online brands. That competition lowered prices and reset customer expectations. Now, some major plans are becoming more expensive again, although cheaper alternatives remain available.

Japan's fees remain relatively low compared with other countries, according to Yokota Hideaki, vice president of the MM Research Institute. Speaking about international price levels, he said:

The price hiking trend is likely to continue, as mobile phone fees in Japan are lower than those in other countries.

What changes, and when?

Docomo's increase is larger in yen than the rises announced for au and UQ Mobile. Its approach puts entertainment at the centre of the package, while KDDI is combining smaller increases with connectivity features or more data. The changes were detailed in mobile pricing coverage.

The timetable shows that the increases are happening in stages, rather than through a single change across the market:

• June 2025: NTT Docomo increased monthly prices for its main plans by about 1,100 yen and bundled access to a sports streaming service.
• August 2025: KDDI raised fees for major au plans by 220 or 330 yen, adding satellite data communication and other functions.
• September 3, 2025: SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile say they do not intend to change core plan prices for now.
• November 2025: KDDI plans to raise UQ Mobile fees by 110 or 220 yen while increasing data allowances.

SoftBank continues to sell service tiers through its main brand and budget lines aimed at customers seeking lower prices. Its English mobile portal presents its mobile services. Keeping major prices unchanged gives Japan's third largest national carrier an opening to attract customers concerned about competitors' increases.

Rakuten Mobile is also holding its core pricing steady for now. Its strategy centres on a simple plan and loyalty programmes, including points for customers with heavy use and seniors. The four carriers are therefore offering different choices: higher fees with more benefits at some brands, and unchanged core prices at others.

What customers receive for the extra money

Docomo's sports streaming bundle may appeal to people who would otherwise pay separately to watch sport. Bringing mobile service and entertainment onto one bill also offers convenience. A customer who rarely watches sport, however, has a different calculation from someone who already pays for it.

KDDI is promoting satellite data communication and other additions that can improve connections in remote places or during emergencies. Satellite connections allow compatible phones to communicate where signals from ground based mobile networks drop out. Services often begin with basic messaging, with richer data functions developing as the technology matures.

UQ Mobile's change is easier to measure: customers will pay more and receive a higher data allowance. The benefit depends on whether they regularly reach their existing limit. More unused data offers less practical value than extra capacity that replaces charges or restrictions a customer already faces.

Carriers also have a commercial reason to package benefits together. Streaming, extra data and connectivity functions can make customers less likely to leave. In telecoms, customer departures are often called churn. Reducing those departures helps an operator retain revenue while paying for its network.

The practical comparison is therefore between the full bill and the services a household actually uses. A bundle can reduce separate spending for one customer while simply raising the monthly mobile bill for another.

Why running a mobile network costs more

Electricity is a major expense because mobile base stations and core network sites need power to operate. Japan's electricity prices have been volatile, and higher energy bills feed into the cost of keeping connections available. Denser networks serving 5G demand add to that load.

The weaker yen has also increased the cost of imported equipment, including radio units and backhaul equipment. Backhaul carries traffic between local mobile sites and the wider network. Hardware and software bought in international markets become more expensive in yen when the currency weakens.

Data use is at record levels, requiring carriers to expand network capacity and the systems that manage services behind the scenes. Security spending is rising too, as operators protect subscribers and strengthen networks against cyber threats. Customer service and compliance become more costly as services grow more complex.

Building reliable, fast 5G coverage can require more small cells in some areas than older 4G networks. These are smaller mobile sites that add coverage or capacity. Some newer frequency bands also need extra sites to reach an area as effectively as lower frequencies.

Rakuten illustrates the scale of that work. It had installed 94,000 4G and 5G base stations by the end of March and planned about 10,000 more to improve coverage and capacity, according to an analysis of Rakuten's network. Its relatively limited holdings of paired spectrum below 2 GHz can require a denser network. Spectrum is the radio frequency resource mobile operators use to carry communications.

For customers, those investments support coverage and capacity. For carriers, they create spending needs before every new site or service produces enough revenue to cover its cost.

Disaster readiness adds another responsibility

Japan's earthquakes, typhoons and floods make restoring communications a continuing priority. Networks must be ready for normal demand and for emergencies that damage infrastructure or interrupt electricity supplies.

Eight telecom companies, including NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile, conducted joint training involving shared refuelling stations. The exercise was intended to speed the restoration of communications during major emergencies.

NTT described the purpose of the cooperation in its January 28 release:

Ensuring the rapid restoration of communication networks in the event of large-scale disasters.

Maintaining that readiness adds costs alongside everyday network operations. Satellite connections are another part of carriers' efforts to provide communications when ordinary coverage is unavailable. The spending supports a service that people need both in daily life and during disruptions.

Rakuten's growth keeps competition in focus

Rakuten Mobile launched full service in 2020 and helped reshape Japan's pricing through simple plans, sharp prices and programmes that return loyalty points. It passed 8 million subscribers by October 2024, according to its subscriber growth announcement.

Rakuten described the aim of its mobile business in that corporate update:

Rakuten Mobile has aimed to democratize the mobile industry, offering affordable and simple service plans.

The company has also faced heavy investment requirements and continuing operating losses. Its network customer count was reported at 7.78 million at the end of March, representing less than 5 percent of the market. Rakuten said it had reached break even on an EBITDA basis, while operating losses persisted.

EBITDA measures earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Depreciation and amortisation spread the recorded cost of assets over time. A company can reach break even on that measure while still recording an operating loss after those costs are included.

Rakuten remains Japan's smallest mobile network, with capital spending forecast to rise as it adds about 10,000 sites and fills coverage gaps. Its position shows the demands facing a newer challenger: winning subscribers while building broad coverage and enough capacity in places where people use the most data.

SoftBank's decision to hold major prices steady offers another competitive pressure. Its strategy across several brands, together with its enterprise business, gives it flexibility. KDDI and Docomo are taking a different route by charging more and presenting added benefits as the reason to stay.

Australia and the United States show similar pressures

Australia's Telstra has linked price changes to spending on network performance, reliability and security. It has also said it is testing satellite texting for mobile phones and intends to introduce it to eligible customers once testing is complete.

Telstra explained its pricing approach in its plan pricing announcement:

We're changing the price of most of our postpaid mobile, mobile data, and home and small business internet plans to help us continue to improve our mobile network performance and experience, including the reliability and security of our services.

Australia's changes also put attention on network upgrades and local support. Japanese carriers face similar spending demands as they invest in security, energy and functions customers increasingly expect.

In the United States, T Mobile announced increases for some older plans, citing rising costs. Some customers faced a $5 increase per line, while newer flagship plans were protected. The legacy plan increases attracted attention because some affected prices had been stable for years.

Singapore provides a different comparison. New entrants and brands operating primarily online have sustained intense competition, pushed data prices sharply lower and rewarded customers who switch frequently. Local competition and costs help explain why pricing moves differ between countries.

Japan's fees remain comparatively modest across many plan tiers, particularly when considering the value delivered per gigabyte after a decade of online brand launches and aggressive promotions. Yokota's expectation of further increases sits alongside that continuing competitive pressure.

Slow revenue growth meets new investment demands

Global telecom service revenue rose 4.3 percent in 2023 to about $1.14 trillion, with modest growth projected through 2028, according to the PwC telecom outlook. That is the wider business setting for carriers trying to fund expanding networks.

Average revenue per user, often shortened to ARPU, has been under pressure in mature markets. It measures how much revenue a company receives, on average, from each user. When that figure is squeezed, operators have less room to fund investment unless they raise prices, reduce costs or develop other revenue.

Artificial intelligence is creating possible business opportunities alongside new infrastructure demands. Carriers could build fibre routes to new data centres, provide fast connections to cloud computing services or offer access to graphics processing units, known as GPUs.

GPU hosting, sometimes described as GPU as a service, allows customers to use computing equipment without owning it themselves. A McKinsey perspective identifies data centre connections, high performance cloud access and GPU services as credible growth options for telecom companies.

Those activities require capital and careful execution. Timing and competition from the largest cloud companies complicate the opportunity. New business services may bring revenue, but operators still need to pay for the infrastructure and capabilities required to provide them.

What households can do about their bills

Japanese consumers have more choices than a decade ago, including brands operating primarily online and virtual operators that rent capacity from the major networks. Plan structures have become more flexible, most services allow switching without long contracts, and changing providers is less painful than in the past.

Coverage, normal monthly data use and the real value of extras are the most useful starting points. Customers satisfied with their network may prefer to stay. Others may find that a smaller allowance, another brand or a different bundle better matches their needs.

• Review previous data use and choose an allowance that covers a typical month, with some room for occasional increases.
• Compare UQ Mobile, ahamo, povo and LINEMO, which often offer the main networks' coverage through simpler plans.
• Consider mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, if lower prices matter more than maintaining speed during busy periods.
• Use home Wi Fi where possible and restrict automatic updates to Wi Fi to reduce mobile data use.
• Count streaming, cloud storage or satellite messaging as savings only when they replace something useful that would otherwise cost money.
• Check family discounts, senior programmes and loyalty points, including Rakuten's programmes for eligible groups.
• Read plan change notices. Some carriers allow moves between tiers without fees, and many online brands offer quick switching.

Customers comparing budget services should consider the tradeoffs as well as the headline fee. Virtual operators can offer lower prices, but users may need to accept lower priority speeds when networks are busy. Extra data is most valuable when it matches actual use.

Price competition has changed, rather than disappeared

Government encouragement in the early 2020s pushed Japanese carriers to cut or simplify prices. Online brands made registration easier and lowered monthly costs for many people, closing part of the price gap between Japan and comparable markets.

Lower cost options still exist alongside the latest increases. Japan's market continues to balance three large established carriers and one newer challenger, with each trying to retain customers while funding coverage, capacity and new services.

Future adjustments may target older plans or tiers that no longer match network costs. International experience points to further changes being possible, whether through higher fees, more data or additional services. For now, the confirmed next step is UQ Mobile's planned November increase, while SoftBank and Rakuten maintain their current position on core prices.

Key Points

• Docomo raised major plan prices by about 1,100 yen in June and bundled sports streaming.
• KDDI increased major au fees by 220 or 330 yen in August, adding satellite communication and other functions.
• UQ Mobile plans increases of 110 or 220 yen in November alongside higher data allowances.
• SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile say they do not plan to change core prices for now.
• Electricity, imported equipment, growing data use, security and disaster readiness are adding to network costs.
• Rakuten continues to expand its network while facing operating losses and a market share below 5 percent.
• Customers can compare actual data needs, coverage, discounts and useful bundled benefits to manage their bills.