Japanese firm SoftBank is lining up a summer launch of a smartphone-based healthcare package, which includes daily monitoring of health indicators and a round-the-clock counselling facility.

Chief executive Masayoshi Son unveiled ‘SoftBank Healthcare’ at a press event held on 7 May.

The service, priced at JPY490 ($5) per month on a two-year contract, comes with a free ‘Fitbit Flex’ wristband that can track health information, such as number of steps walked, calories burned, and hours asleep.

The Fitbit, which slides into the wristband, collects data and connects to the smartphone, is already available in the US.

SoftBank has nonetheless chosen to make the Fitbit Flex compatible with its proprietary app only, which is currently limited to the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, plus Sharp’s new quos Phone (also unveiled at the press conference).

A SoftBank team of medical specialists provide the 24/7 counselling service. If needed, says SoftBank, users can talk directly to a doctor.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s number one mobile operator by subscribers, already offers a similar healthcare service.