ASCII.jp Actually subscribed to the new pay-as-you-go plan of Japan Communication SIM that can set the upper limit for 290 yen per month up to 1GB

Cheap SIM of Japan Communication is a hot topic now. Although the company was a pioneer of MVNO's cheap SIM, it has been pushed in recent years, but it is attracting attention with a new plan named "rational ●● plan" in the form of the government's request for price reduction of mobile phones. It became so. Furthermore, what started in January is the "Rational Simple 290 Plan," which allows you to use 1GB of high-speed communication for 290 yen a month. I actually subscribed and tried it.

A start guide with SIM and settings sent when you apply for the Japan Communication SIM "Reasonable Simple 290 Plan"

Up to 1GB is 290 yen, and the rest is a pay-as-you-go system of 220 yen per 1GB.

First, let's take a look at the contents of the "Reasonable Simple 290 Plan". It is a voice SIM with a call function by phone number, and it costs 290 yen a month with high-speed communication of 1GB per month.

You only need to pay 290 yen a month if you use only up to 1GB, and if you use more than that, 220 yen a month will be added per 1GB. However, there is an upper limit setting function, and if you want to pay 290 yen a month, you can set the upper limit to 1GB after joining. If you set a high upper limit, the more you use it, the higher the charge will be, and it will be 1170 yen for 5GB and 2270 yen for 10GB, but even in that case, the charge will be only for what you use. There is no system to carry over the surplus traffic for this purpose to the next month.

Considering the price difference with the upper plan, it can be said that it is basically a plan for light users up to about 5 GB per month.

When the upper limit is reached, communication with the general Internet is almost cut off, and only Japan Communication's website and My Page can be connected. With a normal cheap SIM (similar to other plans of Japan Communication SIM), communication can be maintained although the speed is extremely slow, such as 200kbps, but it should be noted that this plan is different.

In addition, Japan Communication SIM does not sell set terminals, and the initial fee of 3300 yen for subscription is taken firmly. Other "reasonable ●● plans" also sell subscription packages that include the initial cost, but at this time, the "reasonable simple 290 plan" cannot be subscribed from such packages.

Calls are cheap at 11 yen for 30 seconds without the need for an application. All-you-can-call is not an affordable relay phone, so the sound quality is good.

Japan Communication SIM is also characterized by its call function. You don't need a dedicated application to reduce the call charge, and you can make a normal call for 11 yen in 30 seconds. Three major carriers and many cheap SIMs have realized half price in 30 seconds 22 yen side by side. The same is true for HIS Mobile, which has a cooperative relationship ("I tried HIS Mobile, which is a cheap SIM but can make flat-rate calls, low charges, and high-quality voice calls without an app"). There is no need to worry about making a mistake in the outgoing call application and making it expensive when calling back from the incoming call history.

In addition, MVNO's cheap SIMs such as OCN Mobile ONE and IIJmio have a mechanism of relay phone + auto prefix, and there are also places where the same charge is realized without using a call application, but Japan Communication SIM uses a relay phone. Not used.

As a result, what is different is that if it is a call between current smartphones, it will be a high-quality voice call by VoLTE. There are cases where the sound quality is inevitably inferior via a relay telephone. Regarding this point, Japan Communication also states in the price list that "you can make high-quality calls from the default phone application."

The screen of another smartphone that received a call from the SIM of Japan Communication. It is marked with "HD" and you can talk with VoLTE with high sound quality.

In addition to good sound quality, call options are also available. The "70-minute free call option" that can be used for up to 70 minutes a month is 700 yen a month. "All-you-can-call option" is 1600 yen. For example, if you have a long call once or twice a month, such as making a call to your parents' house, it will be more advantageous than the general flat-rate call of 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

The first setting is indispensable to keep it at 290 yen a month

If you want to use the "Reasonable Simple 290 Plan" for 290 yen a month, you need to not make pay-as-you-go calls, and you need to devise a way to keep it up to 1GB or set an upper limit.

It is desirable to reset the upper limit from My Page as soon as you subscribe.Because the initial value is 10GB

Currently, the initial setting is up to 10GB, so I want to set it from My Page immediately after joining. You can set it to 1GB and change it later if you want to use it any more. After exceeding 1GB, of course, the upper limit cannot be set to 1GB. If you forget the settings and repeat watching videos for a long time, measuring speed, and updating apps via mobile communication, the price will reach 2270 yen. Setting it to 1GB is not possible until the next billing date.

You can't set the upper limit to 1GB after you've already used 1.7GB

The billing date, which is the billing unit for Japan Communication, varies depending on the date of subscription, and if you subscribe on the 25th, the next billing month will start on the 25th of the following month. Please note that just because you subscribe near the end of the month does not mean that your next billing unit will start immediately.

There is no particular way to save the initial cost of 3300 yen.

When I subscribe to a cheap SIM of MVNO, I also buy a subscription pack sold on some kind of campaign or EC site to keep costs down. As mentioned above, the EC site sells subscription packs for "reasonable ●● plans", but only for fixed price sales. Even so, it is still a good deal considering that the points of home electronics mass retailers are 10%. However, at present, it is not possible to subscribe to the "Reasonable Simple 290 Plan" from that pack.

I had no choice but to sign a contract on the Japan Communication SIM site, but I was annoyed that it would cost 3300 yen as an initial cost, and I felt that this was conscientious. This is a rare response, as many carriers do not appeal that initial costs are required.

This time, I applied for the subscription on the afternoon of weekdays, but it was shipped the next day, and it was a good impression that the SIM arrived in the morning of the next day. The website of Japan Communication says that it will be shipped within 3 business days, so it can be said that it will be shipped almost as usual.

A start guide with settings.Especially when the procedure is done at night, the explanation is easy to understand.

SIM cannot be used unless it is opened after it arrives. This time it was a new contract with a new number instead of MNP, but it was the same. You can use it in just a few minutes by completing the procedure from My Page, which requires an ID and password. The parameters of the APN setting method are written on the paper that arrived. By the way, my Xiaomi "Redmi 9T" was not included in the preset APN settings.