KDDI to launch au International Calling FLAT, offering voice calls to countries and territories for a flat monly fee

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]

RankingCountries and territoriesNumber 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



RankingReasonsPercentage (%)

(Multiple answers allowed)

1 Better voice quality 46.3

2 Calls can be made without other partys 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



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 FLAT

[1]

This includes V and VK plans.

[2]

A separate charge of 300 (tax exempt) will apply to each call after the 50th call.

[3]

This refers to the areas that will be covered when the service is launched (March 2016).

[4]

According to statistics on foreign national residents as of the end of June 2015, compiled the Ministry of Justice (October 2015).

[5]

According to an Internet survey of mobile phone usage by foreign residents in Japan, conducted by KDDI (March 2015).

For 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

The information contained in the news releases is current at the time of publication. Products, service fees,service content and specifications, contact information, and other details are subject to change without notice.

LINK:	http://news.kddi.com/kddi/corporate/english/newsrelease/2016/01/07/154...
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