Comparison of all b-mobile SIMs

This post is now considered archived. The new post is here.

This post was last updated on March 17, 2013.

Japan Communications Inc. (JCI) offers the popular line of b-mobile SIMs cards. JCI is an MVNO using Docomo's FOMA 3G network and their 4G LTE network (3.9G, actually). JCI is also the MVNE behind VoIP provider BlueSIP and MVNO Rstream. Depending on your usage and needs, the b-mobile SIMs can be much less expensive than Docomo for the same quality of service. All B-mobile SIMs allow tethering at no extra charge.

If possible, before purchasing I recommend trying out their SIMs, which can currently be done at the Yodobashi Akiba in Tokyo all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as Monday PM. There are other MVNOs in Japan, but I find their products not as compelling as JCI's. The data-only SIMs provided by Docomo can cause issues, but there is a workaround for rooted phones.

Contents

3G "FOMA" SIM cards

Overview
Comparison table

4G "Xi" LTE SIM cards

Overview
Comparison table

Activation
Troubleshooting
Hard/firmware combinations confirmed not working

Overview of b-mobile SIMs

FOMA 3G SIM cards

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U300

This is a prepaid data-only SIM that is limited to a 300 kbps. The one month version is popular among temporarily visitors because it can be purchased with cash and doesn't require residency status. However, the one month version is not (that I've seen) available in retail stores, though I've seen them in various small corner shops in Akihabara. These SIMs can be shipped to a hotel address and paid for COD. I've also seen them available on Ebay (for twice the normal price). There are also six and twelve month versions and micro and full size versions. This SIM card is known to have high latency that can cause relatively long delays when opening new connections.
More Information.

U300 Visitor

This provides the same service as the U300, except that it comes preactivated and has better support for English speakers. The original is no longer available. This is valid for 14 days and includes a 1) "14-day" U300 option or a 2) 14-day 1GB Flat Rate. This can only be shipped to Domestic addresses and is purchased via a credit card.
More information.

U300 TalkingSIM

This is postpaid traditional cellular phone service with 300 kbps data. It supports mobile number portability (MNP), so an existing phone number can be transferred to this service. Japanese law limits cell phones to residents. There is no micro talkingSIM - only a platinum micro talking SIM.
More Information. This SIM can be converted to the 1GB Flat Rate Talking SIM. This has a 3-month contract.

Platinum

Platinum SIMs are for iOS devices only and provide 1.2 GB of data per month. Speed is unlimited for certain predetermined apps (See note below the table). Other applications and tethered devices are limited to 300 kbps. There are prepaid data-only SIMs available to non residents and postpaid platinum talkingSIMs. Micro and full size versions are available
More Information.

Fair

The Fair is a completely unrestricted prepaid data SIM that is charged in 1000 MB units that are valid for either 1) 120 days (4 months) or 2) 30 days (1 month).

Four Month FAIR

This is not designed for heavy data users but can be very economical for those who only need 250 MB per month (a quarter of the charge). Having reliable access to wifi during the day is helpful to ration the bandwidth over a four month period. This is an option for short term visitors who don't mind paying more excellent coverage and speed. I currently use a b-mobile Fair SIM and have a series of posts under the "Fair data cap" label. Fair Micro SIMs are also available

ADDITION: The point at which the four month Fair becomes more expensive than Docomo depends on if you are comparing to the flat or tiered plans, between which there is about a 500 yen difference. Assuming the cheaper of the two prices, about ¥5,500/month, using 658 MB per month with the Fair will be more expensive than using Docomo. (I have only ever used 650 MB in a month with Docomo.)

Comparison to Docomo:
¥8,350 / 1000MB = ¥8.35/MB / ¥5,500 = 658MB

Comparison to Aeon Plan C:
¥8,350 / 1000MB = ¥8.35/MB / ¥4,980 = 596MB

This means that the Fair is not a good deal for someone who uses 650MB with a Docomo branded phone. Compared to the Aeon Plan C SIM, the Fair is not a good deal if you use about 600 MB per month.
More Information. I've written extensively on my experiences using the Fair. All related posts here.

1 GB Flat rate

After the initial 1 GB charge is used or 120 days passes, the FAIR can be recharged for ¥3,100 for 1 GB that is valid for 30 days. Be aware that the when being charged as a 30-day 1 GB product, there is only 10 days to add an additional charge before the SIM card permanently deactivates. Going back to a 120 day charge reextends the validity period to the original.
More Information.

1 GB Flat Rate

1 GB Flat Rate SIMs cannot be converted to a FAIR (thought the reverse is true), and the SIM expires 10 days after the charge is used up. Cost is about ¥3,500, though they were recently spotted at Costco for just under ¥3,000. This gives 1000 MB per 30 days.
More Information.

TalkingFair/Talking 1 GB Flat Rate

This adds a voice plan and requires a 3 month contract, though the contract has better terms than other carriers because it doesn't automatically renew. Early cancelation fee is ¥10,500. A 1GB Flat Rate talkingSIM (30 day recharge plan) would cost ¥4,350 per month
More Information on the Talking Fair and here for more information on the talking 1 GB Flat Rate SIM. The U300 TalkingSIM can be converted to the 1GB Flat Rate Talking SIM.

Yodobashi Zero-yen

Available exclusively from Yodobashi Camera. These are postpaid SIMs that are best for people who split time between Japan and another country. Currently there are no voice plans, data-only. From 0 to 100 MB, charges are incurred at a per-byte rate (¥37.8/MB) to 100 MB. (Billing increment is a byte, not a megabyte.) From 100 MB, a flat rate of ¥3,780 is charged until 1 GB. There is no charge at all during a billing cycle if no data is used. However, after 6 months on zero usage, the SIM card expires.
More Information.

Aeon

Data-only

There are three versions of these data-only SIMs. All are postpaid and only available at Aeon retail stores (current list [J] as a google map). The 100 and 400 kbps versions are similar to the prepaid U300 in that streaming is not allowed. The "carrier speed" version allows streaming. B-mobile VoIP service is possible with each of these SIMs. (See the Note below the table). Micro SIMs are not available.
More Information.

Voice

There are now voice plans available. 1-year contract required. Other terms are the same as the data-only SIMs. The table below shows a matrix of how these plans can be mixed and matched.
More Information.

Total minimum monthly cost		Voice Plan S	Voice Plan M	Voice Plan L
		1,290円	2,100円	3,675円
Data Plan A	980円	2,270円	3,080円	4,655円
Data Plan B	2,980円	4,270円	5,080円	6,655円
Data Plan C	4,980円	6,270円	7,080円	8,655円

"Sumaho" (smartphone) SIMs

The primary difference between this and the Aeon is that the "sumaho" SIM carries a lesser contract requirement of only 3-months with a ¥5,250 early cancellation fee, compared to the Aeon SIM's 1-year, ¥10,500 requirement. Similar voice and data options are available. These are billed as post-paid, monthly recurring. See here for more information.

スマホ電話SIM		Voice Plan S	Voice Plan M	Voice Plan L
		¥1,290	¥2,290	¥3,710
150 kbps	¥980	¥2,270	¥3,270	¥4,690
1GB Flat Rate Data Plan	¥1,980	¥3,270	¥4,270	¥5,690
2GB Flat Rate Data Plan	¥2,980	¥4,270	¥5,270	¥6,690

Comparison of 3G b-mobile SIMs

SIM	Cost	Voice (1)	Speed	Tethering Speed	Data limit	Stream (2)	Billing	Residency required	Availability	Payment method	Initial fee	SIM size	Notes
U300 1 month	¥2,980	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet only	COD/CC	¥0	regular	Easy! Activation
14-day Visitor	¥3,980	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited (14 days)	X	Prepaid	No	Internet only	CC	¥0	regular micro	Preactivated, English
1 GB Visitor	¥3,980	X	7.2/5.7 Mbps	7.2/5.7 Mbps	1000MB/14 days	O	Prepaid	No	Internet only	CC	¥0	regular micro	Preactivated, English
U300 6 month	¥14,900 (¥2,483/month)	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	regular	Easy! Activation
U300 12 month	¥29,800 (¥2,483/month)	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	regular	Easy! Activation Not recommended
Talking U300	¥3,960 (25 minutes)	O	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Postpaid 3 month contract	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥21/30sec activation at purchase
Fair	¥8,350/1000 MB (min. ¥2,087/month)	X	7.2/5.7 Mbps	7.2/5.7 Mbps	1000 MB/120 days	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	CC/cash	¥1,450	regular micro	Easy! Activation
Talking Fair	¥8,350/1000 MB + ¥1,290 for 32.5 minutes (min. ¥3,400/month)	O	7.2/5.7 Mbps	7.2/5.7 Mbps	1000 MB/120 days	O	Prepaid data/postpaid voice 3 month contract	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥4,600	regular micro	¥21/30sec activation at purchase
1 GB Flat Rate	¥3,100	X	7.2/5.7 Mbps	7.2/5.7 Mbps	1000 MB/30 days	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	CC/cash	¥380	regular micro	Easy! Activation
Talking 1GB Flat Rate	¥3,100/month + ¥1,290 for 32.5 minutes (¥4,390/month)	O	7.2/5.7 Mbps	7.2/5.7 Mbps	1000 MB/30 days	O	Prepaid data/postpaid voice 3 month contract	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,530	regular micro	¥21/30sec activation at purchase
Yodobashi Zero Yen	¥3,780 (¥37.8/MB to 100 MB)	X	"Carrier speed"	"Carrier speed"	1000 MB/30 days	O	Postpaid	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,150	regular micro	Cancelled after 6 months no usage online regisration
Aeon Data Plan A	¥980	X	100 kbps	100 kbps	Unlimited	X (3)	Postpaid	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	activation at purchase
Aeon Data Plan B	¥2,980	X	400 kbps	400 kbps	Unlimited	X (3)	Postpaid	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	activation at purchase
Aeon Data Plan C	¥4,980	X	"Carrier speed"(4)	"Carrier speed"	1.2 GB/month	O	Postpaid	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	activation at purchase
Aeon Voice Plan S	¥1,290	O	N/A	N/A	32.5 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 1-year contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥21/30sec activation at purchase
Aeon Voice Plan M	¥2,100	O	N/A	N/A	75 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 1-year contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥18.9/30sec activation at purchase
Aeon Voice Plan L	¥3,675	O	N/A	N/A	~178 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 1-year contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥14.7/30sec activation at purchase
Sumaho 980	¥980	X	150 kbps	150 kbps	Unlimited	X (3)	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	Online activation
Sumaho 1980	¥1,980	X	"Carrier speed"	"Carrier speed"	1GB/month	O	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	Online activation
Sumaho 2980	¥2,980	X	"Carrier speed"(4)	"Carrier speed"	2GB/month	O	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	Online activation
Sumaho Voice Plan S	¥1,290	O	N/A	N/A	32.5 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥21/30sec in store activation
Sumaho Voice Plan M	¥2,290	O	N/A	N/A	75 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥18.9/30sec in store activation
Sumaho Voice Plan L	¥3,710	O	N/A	N/A	~178 minutes	N/A	Postpaid 3-month contract	Yes	Retail only	CC	¥3,150	regular	¥14.7/30sec in store activation
Talking b-micro SIM platnium (5)	¥6,260	O	"Carrier speed"	300 kbps	1.2 GB/month	O (5)	Postpaid	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,150	micro	iOS activation at purchase
b-microSIM platinum 1 month	¥5,280	X	"Carrier speed"	300 kbps	1.2 GB/month	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	iOS Easy! Activation
b-microSIM platinum 6 month	¥29,880 (¥4980/month)	X	"Carrier speed"	300 kbps	1.2 GB/month	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	iOS Easy! Activation
b-microSIM platinum 12 month	¥56,160 (¥4,680/month)	X	"Carrier speed"	300 kbps	1.2 GB/month	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	iOS Easy! Activation
U300 micro 1 month	¥2,980	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet only	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	Easy! Activation
U300 micro 6 month	¥14,900 (¥2,483/month)	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	Easy! Activation
U300 micro 12 month	¥29,800 (¥2,483/month)	X	300 kbps	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	COD/CC/cash	¥0	micro	Easy! Activation
TalkingSIM plantinum	¥6,260	O	"Carrier speed"	300 kbps	1.2 GB/month	O	Postpaid	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,150	micro	iOS activation at purchase

1. These are traditional voice options than have standard phone numbers and support mobile number portability (MNP)
2. Streaming includes music, video and voice chat (youtube, skype, etc.)
3. B-mobile's VoIP service is allowed with these SIMs, but relying on VoIP with a 100 kbps connection, while technically possible, is not recommended. Different hardware and firmware combinations may produce unexpected results, where sound is not routed properly (e.g., incoming voice being routed through the phone's back speaker, rather than the ear speaker). Service is not guaranteed to work properly on non-bmobile hardware.
4. "Carrier Speed" is indicating that the connection speed is not limited from what Docomo customers enjoy, so in general, the speed of the unlimited Fair should be comparable to the Aeon Plan C and Platinum SIMs
5. Platinum SIMs give carrier speed only to certain applications (visual voice mail and facetime are excluded):
   • Mobile Safari
   • App Store
   • Mail
   • iTunes (Podcast)
   • radiko (recommended 30 second buffer)
   • Mobile YouTube
   • Ustream live broadcaster
   • Mobile Google Maps
   • Evernote
   • Dropbox
   • Skype
   All other data is limited to 300 kbps

Xi LTE 4G SIM cards

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These SIM cards all use Docomo's Xi LTE "3.9G" network. Maximum theoretical downlink speed is 75 Mbps in select indoor location. Maximum outdoor speed is 37.5 Mbps. Real speeds will be much lower. The advantage of Xi is not necessarily higher speed, but decreased latency and congestion. Xi feels more "responsive" than FOMA. Xi uses Band I (2100 MHz). No other LTE network in the world is currently using the same frequencies, so ONLY LTE DEVICES BOUGHT FROM NTT DOCOMO OR BMOBILE DIRECTLY WILL OBTAIN "4G" SPEEDS! All other devices will fall back to standard 3G. Latency and speed will be the same as with standard 3G.

Chameleon

This SIM card is available to non-residents. It is purchased initially for ¥5,800, which includes a 3000 MB charge valid over 21 days. After this initial charge expires, there are 3 recharge options. A SIM card that is not recharged within 10 days of reaching either zero bytes remaining or the end of the validity period is permanently deactivated.
More Information.

U300

This option costs ¥2,480 for 30 days unlimited data at a symmetrical 300 kbps speed. The biggest issue with the slow Aeon and U300 SIMs is not the slow uplink and downlink speed but the high latency that causes a long lag before any data download begins. Xi has much lower latency, so the Xi U300 when used in a Docomo or bmobile LTE device is expected to perform significantly better than the 3G U300.

High speed LTE

This option costs ¥5,400 for 5000 MB valid for 30 days at best effort LTE speeds. Like the 1GB Flat Rate, this is probably proxied. Of all bmobile plans, this one provides the best value for a large amount of data but is not significantly cheaper than a standard carrier data plan. This would be of interest to people with a 3G device that don't want to have a 2-year, auto-renewing contract with a Japanese carrier.

FAIR

This provides 1000 MB valid for 120 days at a cost of ¥8,800 and is a good option for people who 1) spend a lot of time near wifi and 2) need a reliable, fast connection when out of wifi range. The "Fair" line of SIMs are the typically the fastest of bmobile's offerings, but are priced significantly higher than the corresponding proxied service. This likely has a public unique IP address, like the 3G Fair.

Amazon 4G

This is a monthly, recurring service that provides 500 MB of LTE 4G data for ¥1,980. An additional 500 MB charge may be purchased, but remaining data does not roll over to the next month. This is not for temporary visitors to Japan - address verification is required. SIM is purchased first from Amazon for ¥3,150, which contains no charge. The SIM is then activated with on the b-mobile product page. The SIM card is permanently deactivated if service is cancelled, though there is no cancellation fee.
More Information.

Amazon/Yodobashi Pair GB

A 2 GB data plan is split between two separate SIM cards for ¥2,970/month, less than the cost of their 1 GB flat rate 3G SIM. Regular size and microSIMs can be mixed. A retail package containing two SIM cards costs ¥3,150 from Amazon or Yodobashi. At the time of purchase, the SIMs are unactivated and have no charge. A credit card must be used to add a service plan for ¥2,970/month. If 2 GB is exceed in a month, additional data can be added at ¥525/100 MB. As far as I can tell, the SIMs are permanently deactivated if service is cancelled. Address verification required.
More Information.

Comparison of 4G b-mobile SIMs

SIM	Cost	Voice	Speed	Data limit	Stream	Billing	Residency required	Availability	Payment method	Initial fee	SIM size	Notes
Chameleon U300	¥,2480	X	300 kbps	Unlimited	X	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	CC/cash	¥5,800 3000MB / 21 days	regular micro	Easy! Activation
Chameleon High Speed	¥5,4000	X	75 Mbps	5000MB / 30 days	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	CC/cash	¥5,800 3000MB / 21 days	regular micro	Easy! Activation
Chameleon Fair	¥8,800	X	75 Mbps	1000MB / 30 days	O	Prepaid	No	Internet / retail	CC/cash	¥5,800 3000MB / 21 days	regular micro	Easy! Activation
Amazon 4G	¥1,980	X	75 Mbps	500MB / 30 days	O	Postpaid	Yes	Internet	CC	¥3,150 (0MB)	regular micro	Online registration
Amazon Pair GB	¥2,970	X	75 Mbps	2000MB / 30 days	O	Postpaid	Yes	Internet	CC	¥3,150 (0MB)	Mix, match regular micro	2 SIM cards Online registration
Yodobashi Pair GB	¥2,970	X	75 Mbps	2000MB / 30 days	O	Postpaid	Yes	Internet / retail	CC	¥3,150 (0MB)	Mix, match regular micro	2 SIM cards Online registration

Activation methods

There are presently four different methods for activation.

1. Easy! Activation Requires a Japanese mobile phone or PHS (English option available).
2. Activation at time of purchase
3. Online registration
4. Preactivated

Easy! Activation is typically done for prepaid data-only 3G FOMA SIMs. Activation at purchase happens with the TalkingSIMs. If purchasing at a store, this happens immediately. If purchasing online, ID must be scanned and sent to JCI when applying for a talkingSIM. Online registration is required for the newer SIMs, such as some of the LTE SIMs and the zero-yen SIM. The SIM arrives in the mail unactiavated and with no charge. SIMs requiring online activation are postpaid and typically billed at monthly recurring intervals (except for the zero-yen when there was no usage during the month) There may be an additional step of verifying mailing address by entering a PIN code from a post card sent by JCI. Finally, preactivation is only for the visitor SIM. A large complaint from tourists was having to find a Japanese mobile phone to activate U300s or 1 GB Flat Rates.

Troubleshooting

Please see here for the cell standby battery drain fix before considering to buy a bmobile data-only SIM.

NOTE: So far I've got several reports of Motorola phones with Android 2.2 not working with bmobile SIMs. Before buying a SIM for a Motorola phone, if at all possible, please try it first to be sure it works.

The U300 and Fair use a unique public IP address. While it shouldn't matter for most people, the Flat Rate 1 GB is behind a proxy. Other SIMs are likely behind a proxy. This post indicates that the Aeon 100 kbps SIM is behind a proxy, so I assume that the other versions are as well. I have been told by devs that the talkingSIMs have some "closed ports", which I interpret to indicate a private IP address. I understand that the platinum SIMs are technically very similar to the Aeon Plan C SIMs, so I am assuming the Platinum SIMs are also assigned a private IP address. The easiest way to confirm this is to use MyIP or run netcfg from an adb shell or terminal emulator window and look for an IP of the form 10.x.x.x, which means you have have a private IP address. (Public vs. private IP addressing could theoretically change since public IPs are not guaranteed in the terms of service.)

There are several important points to consider before buying a b-mobile SIM. If you can visit Tokyo, the Yodobashi Akiba store in Akihabara has a demonstrations of b-mobile SIMs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, plus Monday afternoon. You can slip a SIM in your phone and see if it works. (The Shimbashi Yamada Denki demo corner has been discontinued.)

• The phone must be unlocked or be Docomo branded (Docomo phones don't need to be unlocked)
• Only a handful of phones are officially supported (see links in table)
• Unsupported phones may not work at all
• Unsupported phones may work but with several issues including:
  • No 3G icon (Nexus One with with 2.3)
  • No 3G icon and no signal bars (ht-03a with 2.2)
  • "No network connection" error message popped up by browser (does not affect browsing)
  • Some apps may not use background data because of an apparent lack of internet connection
  • Excessive battery use by radio searching for a signal
• Newer versions of Android work best
• Thre is a patch for rooted phones to give a signal icon
  
  • No risk of "bricking" an already rooted phone
  • May not completely fix issue - data network may still be unknown but does fix battery drain

By far, the most common problem that I see comes from Android users thinking that the SIM is not working when it actually is. With Android it is probably working if all of the following happens:

• NTT Docomo and "emergency calls only" are displayed on the lock screen and/or the pulldown notification bar
• There are no SIM card error messages and there is a "080" phone number (viewable from settings)
• Browser redirects to the b-mobile site (wait longer for activation to complete)

Most Docomo smartphones work with no problems (see the table below for links to supported phones), and the list of phones that have been confirmed not to work is relatively short. The exact reasons why some hard/firmware combinations don't work is not well understood, even by developers and hardware makers. One reason seems to be that the SIMs, as provided by Docomo, lack a circuit switch component. I understand that data-only SIMs of overseas carriers often include this component. It seems that Android wasn't originally designed with data-only SIMs in mind. It is possible that a particular phone that does not work with the b-mobile SIMs, will work if the firmware is changed or, especially if it is updated to 2.3 Gingerbread.

Hard/firmware combinations confirmed not working

• HTC phones with Android 1.6 Donut.
• Motorola Atrix (requires this fix)
• Acer Liquid A1 with 2.2 (see here for fix that requires root access and the ability to mount /system as writeable)
• Based on comments below, it seems the Motorola Droid 2 Global on 2.2 may also not work without the above Atrix fix.