Greg,
Sure, that is something that I can pretty confidently answer: They won't
unlock phones because they don't have to. The only reason carriers in any
market unlock phones is because they are forced to by regulation. There is
no such regulation in Japan, and so they don't do it. In fact, the
Sony-Ericcson V802SE was unlockable, and when that was discovered by
Vodafone Japan, they basically stopped selling it. If you asked for a
logical, business answer, it would be that Softbank subsidises phones under
the agreement with customers that they will use that phone on their network,
thereby paying back the investment that Softbank have made in that customer
through purchasing the phone for them. If you think you are paying anywhere
near the actual cost of a phone, you are really mistaken: Even at 30,000
yen, for a brand new phone with one-seg, the built-in Suica thingy, and so
on, you are the recipient of between 40,000 and 50,000 yen worth of
subsidies. The only phones that 30,000 would buy on the open market are the
ojiisan ones that don't have many features.
This is not only a feature of the Japanese mobile phone market, but also
most other competitive markets. The one really big difference is that in
Japan the handsets are effectively custom built for each carrier, and
therefore the prices are quit a lot higher than in other markets, where
mobile phone makers sell standard handsets with minor software differences
between carriers, and which are cheaper on average than those in Japan.
2008/2/11 Craig Kovatch <cromas@gmail.com>:
> Nik,
>
> Since you seem to be in the know about all of this, do you have an
> idea why SoftBank will not, under any circumstances, SIM-unlock a
> phone? Seeing as how they charge almost full-price for their new
> handsets, it just doesn't make sense anymore...
>
> Sigh.
>
> Thanks,
> craig
>
> On Feb 6, 2008 4:49 PM, Nik Frengle <nfrengle@gmail.com> wrote:
> > You can get just a SIM off of Softbank, though as indicated above, it is
> > only for postpaid plans, so you have to sign up for a plan. You may also
> > need to go to one of the shops where they are more likely to understand
> such
> > a request: Roppongi, or Yaesu kita-guchi would be my choice. The trick
> with
> > getting access to data (which I haven't tried recently enough to know
> > whether it is still true) is that you need the APN information for
> Softbank
> > to be able to put this into your phone. However, if the device you are
> using
> > is not one that Softbank have certified to work (actually, it is the
> > government that does the certification), Softbank *might* not allow it
> to
> > access the APN. It can do that by checking the IMEI, which are specific
> to a
> > maker and device. If this is done, it is because officially
> non-certified
> > devices are illegal to use on the network under Japanese law, UNLESS YOU
> ARE
> > ROAMING, in which case it is fine to use any device (kind of weird, I
> know,
> > but when we were testing mobile data cards at VF Japan, we used
> non-Japanese
> > SIM cards to make sure we weren't breaking any laws). If the device is
> an
> > unlocked version of a device that Softbank are already selling, the
> chance
> > of the device not being allowed on seem small (unless, of course, they
> are
> > doing something else...;). To be honest, I don't think that locking out
> of
> > IMEIs was ever done in the way I have described above, only if a
> specific
> > device was found to cause problems on the network, but I am not
> positive,
> > and in any case things have changed (alot, from what I hear from the
> > ever-dwindling number of people I still know there).
> > Of course, provisioning for data plans may have a trigger that, unless
> you
> > purchase a compatible device with your data plan, will not provision you
> for
> > any flat rate plans. In fact, that would be the way that I would guess
> my
> > old colleagues would go about it: The preference is generally to do
> things
> > on the billing system rather than the network. (IT guys can be rushed
> into
> > doing things more easily than radio network guys). If that is the case,
> you
> > could just follow Andrew's advice and get a device for no cost, and then
> > swap the SIM. As far as I am aware, there is no cross-checking of SIM
> card
> > numbers with IMEI numbers, and no plans to do so. (it would be easy to
> do
> > when the billing system processed CDRs, but would add time in the
> billing
> > process, for very little return, since processing of CDRs is done in
> batches
> > so the swapped SIM wouldn't be detected until quite long after the CDR
> was
> > created, and very few users in Japan swap SIM cards.)
> > Sorry, a bit long winded, but there your are.
> > Best,
> > Nik
> >
> > 2008/2/6 Andrew Shuttleworth <andrew@cvp.jp>:
> >
> > > Ｉ forgot to actually answer the question.
> > >
> > > > > these phones if you live in Japan? Are any of the carriers
> selling
> > > SIM
> > > > > > cards?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > I'm not actually sure whether they will just sell a SIM for voice
> > > packages,
> > > but you should be able to get a 1 yen/0 yen phone (make sure it's 3G)
> and
> > > just pull out the SIM.
> > >
> > > For data packages, again I'm not sure you can just get a SIM, but if
> you
> > > got
> > > a USB or PC card you could just pull out the SIM card. As in my
> previous
> > > mail though - they may not support you using it in a non-supported
> device.
> > > :-(
> > >
> > > Andrew
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > This mail was sent to address nfrengle@gmail.com
> >
> > > Need archives? How to unsubscribe? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > This mail was sent to address cromas@gmail.com
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> >
> >
>
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>
Received on Tue Feb 12 10:52:35 2008