[ITmedia Mobile] What is the reason behind "povo's new subscriptions are growing very steadily"? Aiming to use “2nd card → main” from now on – KDDI President Matsuda

``New subscriptions to povo are growing very steadily.'' On November 6, KDDI President Hiroji Matsuda mentioned the billing service ``povo2.0'' at a financial results briefing for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027. povo2.0 has a basic fee of 0 yen, and a major feature is the ``topping format'' that allows you to add data capacity and voice call flat rate options when needed. Consultations regarding contract procedures and rate plans are not accepted in stores; the rate plans are available only online.

Mr. Matsuda touched on the strong performance of povo2.0, and revealed that the company is managing KPIs (key performance indicators) that emphasize active users and is making good progress in acquiring "second SIM cards."

Regarding povo's progress in acquiring contracts, Mr. Matsuda said, ``We are managing not only the cumulative number of contracts, but also the KPI of increasing active customers who have used the service within one month.'' He then touched on the current situation where the number of topping users is expanding as the cumulative number of subscribers increases, and answered, ``We are guiding customers through a scenario where they will first use the service as a second line or topping, and then use our advantageous rate design to encourage them to use it as their main line,'' indicating a step-by-step approach aimed at transitioning from a secondary line to a main line.

Questions about roaming arose one after another. When asked about povo's growth and response in relation to securing network capacity and acquiring customers from other companies due to the reduction in roaming provision for Rakuten Mobile, Mr. Matsuda cited the importance of providing users who only have a single SIM contract with an opportunity to compare communication experiences, and said, ``We are proposing a second SIM so that you can experience it.''

Regarding the status of contract acquisition, he said, ``New subscriptions to povo are growing very steadily, and there are signs that the second ticket culture is spreading,'' indicating a positive outlook on capturing demand for secondary lines and service growth.

What is behind the steady growth in demand for “second SIM”?

Behind this steady growth in demand for ``second SIM cards'' is a strategy that the company had put in place in advance. At the "povo2.0 service briefing session" held on June 18th, Tatsuya Hamada, president of KDDI Digital Life, talked about the true meaning of the promotion that was a hot topic on SNS. At the time, povo's official X account sent out a message that implicitly poked at other companies' communication concerns, saying, ``Stay with your current contract and prepare for the possibility that you won't be able to connect!''

Regarding this intention, Mr. Hamada explained, ``We understand that there have been a lot of complaints on social media about difficulty connecting, and we believe that there are many customers who are having trouble using data.'' Although he avoided naming specific carriers, he said, ``As we have heard from our customers regarding communication quality, the trend is naturally heading towards us,'' acknowledging the fact that they cater to users who have concerns about other companies' communication.

Povo with a basic fee of 0 yen, will the use case change in the future?

The biggest strength that can be seen from the povo initiatives to date is that the line can be maintained for a basic fee of 0 yen. It can be said to be unique among major telecommunications carrier services.

It is ideal for use as a ``backup subline'' in case of communication failure of the main line or out of service area in commercial facilities or underground malls. In addition, it is suitable for a wide range of situations, from ``temporary data addition'' when you want to increase your communication volume only when traveling or at an event, to ``earning daily benefits'' through collaboration with partner companies such as McDonald's and TVer.

Furthermore, povo has also launched super large capacity toppings such as "1.32TB (365 days)," which is equivalent to 110GB per month. The two-step strategy of first lowering the psychological hurdle to draw in customers in preparation for when they are unable to connect, allowing them to experience a high-quality au line, and then purchasing large-capacity toppings and establishing them as the main line appears to be working steadily.

Taking advantage of its zero basic fee and topping format, povo has been working on a variety of uses, such as backup sub-lines, sub-lines used for specific purposes, and even the development of a B2B2C platform in collaboration with partner companies. However, as interest in communication quality increases and second SIMs become more established, future use cases will likely change.

Will the use of povo's secondary line → main line continue in the future?

KDDI is working every day to improve the quality of its network, and has received high praise from the British research firm Opensignal. If povo's affordable and diverse topping design can be maintained while the network quality is also good, more users will likely switch from the secondary line to the main line, which has been the norm up until now.