The Japanese regulator has called for the country’s mobile operators to disclose their network leasing prices in a bid to encourage more MVNOs to enter the market. The move is designed to stimulate competition in the market, which continues to be dominated by Japan’s three largest operators – NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank. However, according to Reuters, the regulator has also asked smaller players such as eMobile, Willcom and KDDI-affiliated UQ Communications to reveal their prices as well. In most markets, the wholesale rates that mobile network operators charge MVNO partners on their network are deemed commercially sensitive and are not made public.

According to analysts spoken to by Reuters, the move could create a market for Internet service providers to launch mobile data services – a market that is deemed largely untapped at present – but analysts are sceptical that the price disclosures will tempt foreign mobile firms to enter the market. Disney Mobile, which launched in Japan earlier this year on Softbank’s network, is one of the few MVNOs in the country to offer both voice and data services.