The average monthly communication cost for smartphones and the Internet is over 10,000 yen, and how much is the active generation?

Communication costs refer to the costs of the Internet, telephone, mail, etc. Today, the Internet and smartphones have become indispensable. On the other hand, some people may be worried about their monthly communication costs. This time, I will explain the average and standard of communication costs and how to save money.

What is communication cost?

Most of the communication costs in ordinary households are the costs of telephone, internet, mail, etc. Here, we will explain each communication cost.

smartphone

In addition to the monthly basic charge, smartphone charges include initial contract charges, data communication charges, call charges, maintenance charges, and options.

Smartphones are now an indispensable item, and many households have one kitchen for each person except for small children. However, the more families who own a smartphone, the higher the total communication cost.

Fixed line such as optical line

A fixed line is a line that allows you to use the Internet by connecting an optical line or cable TV to your home. Optical lines are basically unlimited in data usage, and can be said to be indispensable for those who want to enjoy high-quality videos and games with a large amount of data communication.

Some people use mobile routers that can be carried around instead of fixed lines for home use, but this is generally a plan with limited usage.

Shipping costs for letters and courier

Communication costs include postage stamps and parcels, and delivery charges for courier services. For example, New Year's cards and postcards for summer greetings are included in the communication fee.

Delivery charges for courier services are also communication costs, so people who sell disused items on flea market apps on a daily basis will tend to have higher communication costs.

Average communication costs

According to the statistical data "2020 Household Balance by Household Personnel" released by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the average monthly communication cost for all households is 11,323 yen. Whether you see this amount as high or low will depend on your situation. Below, we will introduce the average amount of communication costs by the number of family members, the age of the head of household, and the annual income.

Average communication costs by number of family members

Communication costs for each household member are as follows.

By the way, the communication costs by age of the head of household are as follows.

Looking at single-person households, the average communication cost for one person is 7,286 yen. You can see that the larger the number of people in a household, the higher the communication cost.

Students living alone or elderly single-person households may not have a fixed line at home. For households with two or more people, the fixed line of the Internet is shared by the family, and the smartphone is covered by the family discount, so it is cheaper to have more families as the communication cost per person.

Also, looking at the householder's age, we can see that the communication costs of the working generation under the age of 60 are high. For households with a head of 70 years or older, although it is slightly higher than the average for all single-person households, the result is that communication costs are the lowest when classified by age.

Average communication costs by household income

The average of communication costs by household income is as follows.

From this table, you can see that the communication cost increases proportionally as the annual income increases.

* Reference: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau "Household Survey"

Estimated communication cost

Here, we will explain the standard and breakdown of communication charges for the Internet and mobile phones.

smartphone

The monthly usage fee for smartphones is generally 2,000 to 6,000 yen per person. However, the amount varies greatly depending on the contract plan and data usage of each carrier.

Also, if you have various options such as all-you-can-call, call waiting, answering machine, and tethering, it will be more expensive than usual. In the case of cheap smartphones, there are plans that can be used for around 1,000 yen per person if the amount of data used is small.

Fixed line such as optical line

It seems that the fixed line of the Internet installed at home has a monthly charge range of about 4,000 to 6,000 yen. When connecting to your home, monthly charges are cheaper for condominiums and other condominiums than for single-family homes.

It is characteristic that fixed line charges are often discounted with a set plan with smartphones, electricity, gas, etc. However, when you make a new contract for a fixed line, construction costs and fees may be incurred.

Pocket Wi-Fi

Pocket Wi-Fi is a small and portable Wi-Fi communication terminal device, and the monthly usage fee is about 4,000 to 5,000 yen. Unlike the flat-rate fixed line, there are restrictions on the amount of data used, but you can connect to a notebook PC or tablet on the go.

You can also save on your smartphone's data consumption by using Pocket Wi-Fi instead of your smartphone's mobile communication.

How to save on communication costs

Some people may find the communication costs of smartphones and the Internet to be high. However, if you review the contract details, you may be able to reduce the current communication costs. Below, we will explain the main saving methods.

Review the contract line

For smartphones, switching from a major carrier to a major carrier's sub-brand or cheap SIM may result in lower monthly payments.

Sub-brands of major carriers respond to the needs of smartphones for young people, and have lineups such as docomo's ahamo, au's povo, SoftBank's Y! Mobile, and LINEMO. With about 20GB, if you don't need an online contract or carrier email, you can use it with a cheaper monthly usage than major carriers.

You can also save communication costs by reviewing the contract line, such as changing from an optical line to pocket Wi-Fi.

For example, if you stop using optical lines and use the cheapest SIM plan to carry pocket Wi-Fi, you can reduce your monthly communication costs to around 5,000 to 7,000 yen.

Save data usage capacity

Basically, the higher the monthly usage fee for smartphones, the more data capacity can be used. Therefore, if you change to a rate plan with less data capacity, you can save communication costs accordingly.

If you don't watch videos or movies while you're on the go, or don't download large amounts of data, a low data usage plan will suffice.

If you set rules such as performing large-capacity data communication at home and not watching videos on the go, you can avoid wasting data communication volume.

Cancel the contracted option

Even if the options are explained in detail at the time of contract, you may forget the contents and functions after a while. Some options, such as the first campaign, are initially free of charge, but will be charged after a certain period of time.

In many cases, they are not aware that they have been charged and are wasting money on things they do not use. We recommend that you check the contract details on My Page, etc., and cancel the options you do not need. You won't have to spend a few hundred yen a month on something you don't use or can substitute for something else.

summary

The average monthly communication cost for households is 11,323 yen, but major telecommunications carriers are also making drastic price cuts, such as the start of offering cheap plans for sub-brands. There is a high possibility that you can save money by reviewing the contract details.

When switching smartphones or changing models, there may be some things that can only be vaguely understood even if you ask the new contract details at the store. First of all, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the price plan and contract details and narrow down to only what you really need.

* The content of this article is based on the information at the time of writing. The system and contents are subject to change after publication, so please check the latest information on each website. ~ This article is also read ~ The total monthly communication cost is over 10,000 yen, how should you choose a Wi-Fi line? How to save on utility bills for living alone? Introducing saving techniques that consider the entire household budget! How much is the living cost of living alone and how much is the regional difference?Compare rent market prices in various places such as Tokyo ~ Related links ~ Simulate how much you can borrow a mortgage Make a reservation at an ARUHI store that simulates how much you can save by refinancing a mortgage