Re: [tlug] (off-topic) Unlimited data plan (mobile internet access) in Japan

[Darren Cook <darren@example.com>]

> Japan is still a zero competition/zero innovation/huge margins country
> in that area, just like USA. Feels like stuck into the late 90's.
> 
> * In France it is ~4000 JPY for unlimited 20Mbps DSL...1Gbps Fiber,
> unlimited phone calls covering most of the world + digital TV.
> 
> * French mobile plan is now ~2000 JPY for 20GB 4G data with unlimited
> calls including, again, most of the world.

How is the coverage outside Paris and other large urban areas?

One thing Japan does well is good coverage; I believe (as of last year)
there was at least 3G in 98% of all inhabited areas. (I couldn't quickly
find a link to support that, but from memory it was the one provider I
was interested in at the time; yet all three providers are about the
same.) And a lot of uninhabited areas, deep in the mountains, get good
signal too. [1]

In the U.K., the government has to resort to "rural incentives", because
the big companies won't go there (because, of course, they are legally
obliged to make a profit for their shareholders). And so there are even
areas in mid-sized towns where you cannot get a signal, and well over
half the countries of England have <90% of *2G* coverage by *premises*.
As for 3G, only London and couple of other large cities have over 95%
coverage. ( http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-services/ )

Bandwidth is the wrong measure of a country's internettiness. All it
does is mean people download the HD version from Youtube instead of a
lighter version, and unless they happen to compare side-by-side, it is
wasted on them. A better measure is what % of houses have enough
bandwidth to connect to YouTube. IMHO.

Darren

[1]: Can't find the % stat, but here is a map for Docomo for a mostly
mountainous prefecture:
http://servicearea.nttdocomo.co.jp/inet/GoRegcorpServlet?rgcd=03&cmcd=LTE2&scale=250000&lat=35.660944&lot=138.571569