Only a few places left in 2019.This year, it is finally the last series.So, this time, I would like to look back on the year based on my own articles and take a rough view of next year.
Secretary Kan's "40 % price reduction" Remarks for new rate plans one after another
To express this year's mobile industry in one letter, it may be "gold".As a matter of fact, it seems that articles on DoCoMo and au's new rate plan were often read in this series.In the serial PV ranking, articles that self -simulated docomo's new rate plan in fourth place, questioning the 12th place in October service -in, and 14th, and 14th on the au's new rate plan.Is entered.
▲ Starting with a new rate plan of DOCOMO, looking back in the year when various rates were announced, it was already announced in 2018, but in April, DOCOMO has a new rate plan ".Announced Gigaho "Gigalite".Au has also launched a flat -rate “au Data MAX Plan” in May by competing with this.In the end, full -fledged entry has been postponed, but Rakuten Mobile has also launched a free supporter program in October.
▲ In October, Rakuten's free supporter program began in 2018 that Secretary -General Kan said that there was room for a 40 % price reduction, but in response to these remarks, he dropped into the price plan. It takes a little time to do. It can be said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications side, which regulates, is quite fluttering, such as reducing the contract cancellation fee to 1000 yen and setting the terminal discount limit to 20,000 yen until the "mysterious questionnaire" is taken. It was a year when the carrier side was struggling to deal with the au upgrade program immediately after the start of the au upgrade program in the form of being dragged by this. By the way, the au data MAX plan above has changed to a two -year tie -up penalty and two -year binding amount, and the name has changed to "au Data MAX Plan Pro". It just started in July, but honestly it is too dangerous to leave it to users.......。
▲ au will launch a fixed -rate “au data MAX plan” as soon as possible in the 5G era.
Increased cooperation with other companies such as docomo "Amazon Prime 1 year Free"
Nevertheless, keep an eye on the price in 2020.What seems to be moving is the timing when 5G reaches service.DOCOMO is in spring, au and Softbank are scheduled for March 2020.It is 5G that is familiar with ultra -high -speed communication and low delay, but it is important to pay attention to what kind of price design will be.Due to the large capacity, it is expected that unlimited use plans will be the mainstream, but the number of bundles plans such as au Netflix packs is likely to increase.DOCOMO has also introduced a bundle plan when Amazon Prime will be free for a year free.
▲ DOCOMO suggests a bundle plan in the Amazon Prime campaign.In the 5G era, the price of services is likely to increase.
The introduction of the separation plan will not be a high -end smartphone.
Money includes not only communication charges but also terminal costs. It is a separation plan introduced instead of lowering the price itself. In the end, the total amount should not change much because it will come, but the so -called "real price" will not be possible, so the terminal fee at the store will seem to have risen. At the same time, the performance of the smartphone itself has improved, and it is no longer a high -end model as before. In response to this situation, not only MVNOs, but also major carriers are expanding the middle range model. Not only the handling model, but also the reader's interest in the middle range model seems to be increasing. The evidence is that on Engadget, the most read author of the year in the bulletin of Google's middle range smartphone, "Pixel 3A/3A XL". I still remember that my name was in the Twitter trend immediately after this article was uploaded. It's not over, it's not there!
▲ Not only is it a hot topic, but the author has been trended on Twitter to the author for some reason Pixel 3a's reputation for some reason, but in the fifth place, Huawei's "NOVA LITE 3" article.However, in the sixth place, ASUS's "ZenFone Max Pro (M2)" article was lined up, and it was a year that made me feel the strength of the middle range model.It is a pity that ZenFone was talking about collection, but after that, sales have resumed and I would like to follow up that it is a corner of the best selling middle range.In addition, the 16th place is equipped with Snapdragon 710, which is also ranked in OPPO's "RENO A", which has been in the 30,000 yen range in the last minute while supporting Osaifu -Keitai.
▲ Huawei's "NOVA Lite 3" released as MVNO exclusive model
▲ The overseas model is shipped due to a mistake, and it is easy to collect the "ZenFone Max Pro (M2)" middle range model, which has been recovered, but the Pixel 3A series has a flagship model with a camera function pixel 3. Almost the same as. It is a model that suppresses only the material of the body and the chipset to be mounted, and has a slightly different development idea from the general middle range that suppresses the overall performance. However, as a writer, this idea was really understood. The processing capacity and the image quality of the camera are originally different in value, but for some reason, it is completely linked to it. There should always be a layer that the processing capacity cannot be yielded, and the Pixel 3A series is a model aimed at here. Xiaomi's "Mi Note 10 Pro", who rushed to Japan at the end of the year, is also a smartphone with a close idea, and the chipset falls further than the top, but the camera is the top class in the industry. The performance of the middle range itself has been improved, so this one -point luxury smartphone may increase in 2020.
ESIM gradually penetrates
Although it is slightly linked to the story of money, the response of the article about ESIM seems to be unique to ENGADGET, which has many geek readers.The third place is an article that actually used the IIJ ESIM plan, and in the 8th place, the article summarizes the details of purchasing T-Mobile ESIM in the United States.ESIM is installed in the iPhone XS, XS MAX and XR that appeared in 2018, and has gradually began to spread in Japan.This feature has been taken over by the iPhone 11 series, and the Android major terminal has also equipped with ESIM, Pixel 4/4 XL, which was released in October.
▲ The fact that IIJ has launched the ESIM service, and in Japan, which has attracted the topic, you can use your regular phone number to save only data communication charges by setting a cheap MVNO for ESIM.This usage is compatible with the phase -based price plans that major carriers have started, and IIJ actually has the same appeal.Even if you travel abroad, the company travels abroad, and even if the international roaming of docomo and au is 980 yen for 24 hours, ESIM can be used at a lower price.Since the iPhone's ESIM support, overseas carriers and MVNOs have started services one after another, so it can be said that it is a technology that we want to keep an eye on.
▲ At present, it is gradually spreading as a convenient service for traveling abroad and on a business trip. The photo shows the IIJ's ESIM of the US T-Mobile, and it is expected that a formal price plan will appear in 2020. At present, the price is clearly unsuitable with one type, but if you put in a small capacity plan or share plan, you should be able to select a wider range of users. I would also like to expect prepaid services that make use of the characteristics of ESIM, which is easy from contract to activation. In addition, next year, NTT Communications will launch full MVNOs other than IIJ, and may include ESIM services as OCN Mobile One. Although it is an ESIM service that overseas carriers and overseas MVNOs are ahead, we hope that 2020 will be a year when the movement of domestic business operators will attract attention. Then everyone, have a good year! Weekly Mobile Communication by Junya Ishino
