Softbank.vs. AU (KDDI) Bryan Copeland & May Su Aung

Company nameSOFTBANKKDDI Focus  Broadband Infrastructure Segment  High-tech investment  Telecommunications Business  Fixed business dominance  Content partnerships Business Segments  Fixed-line Telecommunications  e-Commerce Segment  “Internet Culture” Segment  “Broadmedia” Segment  Media & Marketing Segment  Overseas Funds Segment  Technology Solutions Services  Short-term goal: secure a 30% share of mobile market (roughly 30 million subscribers)  Mobile Music market  Mobile Search advertising  M-Payments  Exclusive licensing c  Trendy / Fashionable handsets  Outreach through KDDI Design studio flagship store Established (circa)September 3, 1981June 1, 1984 Principal OfficeSOFTBANK CORP. Tokyo Shiodome Bldg., 1-9-1, Higashi-shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo , Japan 3-2, Nishi-shinjuku 2-chome,Shinjuku- ku, Tokyo Company Overview

Payment Plans Cheapest on paper Many “support” plans Cheapest, but only if everyone you know uses Softbank Highly focused on customer needs # of offerings can be extremely confusing; almost ensures no two customers pay the exact same fee

Data Access & Infrastructure Merger & Acquisition 41% stock ownership of Yahoo! Japan; acquired Vodafone Japan Yahoo Portal access “Y!” button on phone hardware Leads directly to Yahoo! Mobile search / services with Yahoo! display ads Partnership (tie-up) Google pays KDDI for Ad- words placements and to be default search provider “My AU Page” personal portal service – Blog – Mail – Address Book

Most Popular Data Services Video download & streaming Game Downloads Location Search & FriendAlerts Mobile web browsing Picture & video messaging M-Commerce Transactions (online shopping via mobile) Music & Ringtones GPS, Map & Navigation Manga on-demand

Business Model

Handsets # of Handset Models “Fancy-looking” phones, high-tech functionality

Softbank’s Latest Handset 911SH by Sharp 2-Megapixel Camera Music Player E-comics QR Code Reader S! Town Video Call Enjoy Voice Call & all while watching TV!

Business Model - KDDI FTTH (Internet) Fixed-line Phone

KDDI (Handsets & Direction) GOALS: “…to continue expanding our customer base while cultivating new business domains based on the watchwords ‘Strategy’ and ‘Speed’.” Ubiquitous Network & Society agenda Maintain Net Positive Churn Rate Deal with decreasing ARPU Simple & functional handsets

KDDI’s Most Popular Handset A5514SA by Sanyo Global Passport Digital Camera Talk/Use & EZWeb Overseas Safe-Navi GPS & Live Earth Worldwide FM Radio tuner English-Japanese Dictionary Language Recognition (using camera)

Effect of Mobile Number Portability Growth in Subscriber Number (net)

Effect of Mobile Number Portability 3G Growth (Subscriber number, by carrier)

Total ARPU Total ARPU (year-on-year) change : ▲¥490 （ ▲6.8% ） of Voice – ¥600 （ ▼11.3% ） of Data ＋ ¥110 （ ▲5.8% ） ＋ ¥20 （ ▲0.3% ） of Voice – ¥680 （ ▼10.3% ） of Data ＋ ¥700 （ ▲10.6% ）

55.7% 25.2% 16.4% 2.7% Future Race for handset features, functionality Minimize subscriber churn-rate MobileTV, other advanced services, could be solution to ARPU problems Customer loyalty & retention becomes increasingly important Stiff competition to claim share of DoCoMo churn as Japanese Market opens up

Analysis Softbank should: Continue to target tech-savvy users & early adopters with high-end devices Partner with organizations such as Universities, Companies and Government departments where real savings can be made for contacts within a “white plan” network. Aim for a portion of NTT Docomo’s less-tech enthusiast but function- focused business users with simple yet powerful handsets AU should: Reduce subscriber churn by simplifying payment plans, especially for data plans Offer a loyalty program which rewards customers for staying with the service long-term, such as complimentary downloads (can also get them interested in trying content services) Entice NTT and Softbank customers by being the first to offer an unlimited bandwidth option for new handset models