I kept paying my monthly smartphone bill, even though I thought it was expensive.
I kept paying my monthly smartphone bill, even though I thought it was expensive.
I knew in my head that I should review it soon, but I just couldn't bring myself to take action.
That was about 10 years ago.
I had two concerns.
One was the worry that my connection speed would become slow. When I used maps for work, or looked things up while traveling, I didn't want to be inconvenienced by slow speeds.
The other was that I would no longer be able to use my carrier email. At the time, I was using a carrier email address starting with @, and I was resistant to losing it.
Hearing that the speed would only be slow during limited times like lunch breaks, and realizing that most of my communication had shifted to LINE, these two things pushed me to make the move.
I switched
It seems that low-cost SIM cards began to spread in earnest in Japan around 2014. I switched shortly after that. It was a time when it was still rare to see people around me using them.
The service I switched to was a low-cost SIM company that provided service by leasing lines from major carriers. It was the type where monthly fees were significantly cheaper, but there was almost no in-store support.
The procedure was a bit more complicated back then than it is now, but I managed to do it myself.
How was the 'slow connection'?
I will be honest.
It was almost no problem at all.
Reading the news daily, using maps, and communicating via LINE—for that level of usage, I rarely felt any inconvenience.
There might have been rare occasions where I felt it was a bit slow during lunch hours, but in 10 years, it never reached a level where I couldn't use it.
My honest impression is that what I was worried about turned out to be so normal that it was anticlimactic.
How much has changed in 10 years?
It became more than 5,000 yen cheaper every month.
Over 10 years, that adds up to a difference of more than 600,000 yen.
You can go on trips, can't you?
I didn't have any particular problems. There was no in-person support at a counter, but I was able to resolve things by checking the website or contacting the support desk. I think the lower price reflects that.
If you are the type of person who feels anxious without a place to consult when something happens, there are options like Y!mobile or UQ mobile where you can receive in-person support at carrier shops. They are a bit more expensive than pure budget SIMs, but still significantly cheaper than major carriers. I think you should choose based on what you value most.
It seems that the procedures are much easier now than they were back then. I heard that if you use an eSIM, you can complete the switch on the same day. That was a system that didn't exist when I switched.
There are also more options now than when I switched.
Well then.
I often hear people around me say it seems 'troublesome' or 'difficult.' I thought so too 10 years ago. But once I took the step, it wasn't really like that.
Once you try it, it turns out it wasn't that bad. There are quite a few things like that, aren't there?
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Author: Sate. | Digital Utilization Supporter
I have spent 30 years at an IT company creating 'easy-to-understand manuals.' Together, we will turn the 'I don't understand IT' feeling from your 50s onwards into 'Oh, I can actually do this.'