Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. (DCM) announced new billing options to go along with the upcoming launch of tablet devices compatible with its recently launched LTE network.
The rate plans will include the Xi Flat plan and the Xi “two-tiered” offering, both offered with or without a two-year contract. The Flat plan with a contract will provide an introductory price of $57 per month for unlimited data access at speeds up to 75 megabits per second. After the introductory period, the monthly charge will increase to $77 per month. Beginning in October of next year, DoCoMo said it will begin capping data usage at 7 gigabytes per month at which point users can pay an extra $34 for each 2 GB of data transmission at the maximum speed or receive unlimited usage beyond 7 GB at a throttled speed of 128 kilobits per second.
The non-contract version of the Flat plan will see an introductory price of $76 per month, which will increase to $96. All other terms and pricing are similar to the contract offering.
For those with less data needs, DoCoMo offers its tiered plan that with a contract provides the first 9,542 kilobytes of data transmission at $32 or $51 without a contract for an introductory period, or at $64 and $83 respectively without a contract.
The new plans are launching in connection with a pair of LTE-equipped tablet devices compatible with the carrier’s “Xi” network. The first to launch is the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE SC-01D set to hit the shelves early next month, followed by the Fujitsu Ltd. Arrows Tab LTE F-01D in mid-October.
Both devices sport 10.1-inch screens and are powered by dual-core processors running Google Inc.’s Android 3.2 operating system. The Fujitsu model also includes a waterproof design that DoCoMo says will allow “users to enjoy video and one-seg mobile TV even while relaxing in the bathtub.”
Pricing for the devices was not released.
The carrier noted recently that smartphone devices were behind a surge in net profits. DoCoMo also noted earlier this year plans to trial LTE-Advanced service, which it said has provided download speeds in excess of 1 gigabit per second in lab testing.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter.