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Responsibility for Products and Services

KDDI's Approach

In our efforts to "improve customer experience," we at KDDI believe it is important to offer products and services so that all customers can experience the joy of communication.
We offer products and services from a customer perspective, aiming to create a society in which ICTs is accessible to all, where even more people the world over―adults, children, older people and people with disabilities and low income earners―have equal access to the benefits of a variety of products and services.
As well as increasing accessibility, we strive to offer services that anyone can use with peace of mind. We are committed to offering products and services based on the principle of universal design, so that they can be used with confidence by everyone.

Product Quality Control

We implement total quality control from product design to after-sales service to ensure that customers can use our products in a safe and secure manner. With the purpose of realizing the products with safe and secure quality, in cooperation with outsourcing manufacturers, we at KDDI carefully confirm the safety, durability, and quality of our hardware and software products in each manufacturing process from design to market release based on strict standards.
In case any defects or quality issues arising after products are released, we receive inquiries via our website, phone and au retailers including au Shops to immediately identify the causes and improve both hardware and software.
If any especially serious defects are found, the market response screening committee chaired by the President is established to confirm the details and causes, decide countermeasures, and promptly respond to customers.

Product Quality Control Process

Initiatives for Promoting the Safe Use of Products and Services

Smartphones, mobile phones and the Internet have become irreplaceable in our daily lives.
However, more people, particularly children and older people, get involved in crimes and other troubles.
We promote initiatives to ensure safe use regardless of the users' level of ICT literacy. Those include providing products and services that give advice and instruction on manners to keep in mind and other awareness campaigns for safe use.

Cycle Safety Project to Prevent Use of Smartphones While Cycling

Accidents related to using smartphones while driving or during travel, known as "smartphone use while performing other tasks," are on the rise. In the KDDI Group, initiatives have been underway since 2017 to address this social issue by raising awareness about the elimination of smartphone use while cycling and preparing for substantial compensation, as part of our commitment to eliminate "smartphone use while performing other tasks". Starting in April 2022, we have created an "online lesson kit to discourage smartphone use while cycling," enabling individuals to understand the risks of using a smartphone while riding a bicycle. The online lesson kit is a 50-minute class that includes a "slide movie" and the "smartphone use while walking, cycling, and driving risk simulator" created in this project, designed for learning about the dangers of using smartphones while cycling. You can contemplate the dangers and issues of "using a smartphone while cycling" on your own through experiences that are close to reality. Furthermore, by utilizing this lesson kit in schools, you can easily conduct lessons similar to regular classes and also adapt them for online classes. Additionally, KDDI has become the "Tokyo Bicycle Safety Supporter," collaborating with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to further enhance joint initiatives aimed at promoting safe bicycle usage across society, thereby contributing to the promotion of bicycle safety.
Going forward, we will expand the Cycle Safety Project, aiming to realize a society where bicycles can be used safely.

Initiatives to Promote Safe Use

for Young people

Products

mamorino5/mamorino6
A touch-screen mobile phone for kids, with security alarm, location confirmation feature, etc.

Services

Security Filter for au
A smartphone filtering service to protect young people from dangerous sites and apps. Filter level can be set according to the child's age and what they are using the smartphone for.
Also provides time limits to prevent overuse, usage inquiries, area search, etc.
Age confirmation Services
With the customer's consent, we offer an Age Confirmation Service that transmits age information (information that allows content providers to determine whether the customer is over or under the age specified by the providers) when the customer uses social media and other services.

Rates

Junior Keitai Plan ME (Recommended model: mamorino6)
This plan is designed for children in elementary school or younger. With various discounts applied, it can be used for as low as 660 yen per month (excluding tax, 600 yen).
Junior Keitai Plan N (Recommended model: mamorino5)
This plan is designed for children in elementary school or younger. With various discounts applied, it can be used for as low as 550 yen per month (excluding tax, 500 yen).
Family Discount
Discount service with no fixed fee, for families using au smartphones or mobile phones.
Domestic SMS messaging (C-mail) and domestic calls among family are free 24 hours a day, based on certain contract conditions. Families living separately can also apply.
  1. *Can be combined with Smile-Heart Discount

Measures

Promote the use of filtering services
Based on the Act on Development of an Environment That Provides Safe and Secure Internet Use for Young People, as well as implementing filtering for all contracts for minors, we are actively striving to improve user-friendliness and increase awareness of our filtering services.
KDDI Smartphone and Mobile Phone Safety Classes
We give in-person or online classes at schools across Japan, enabling children to learn the skills to safely and properly use smartphones and mobile phones using their own judgment.
Educational website: Family Guide to Smartphones and Mobile Phones on WEB
An educational website where both parents and children can enjoy learning about the important points and rules when using smartphones and mobile phones.

for Older People

Products

BASIO active
A product for first-time smartphone users with a large screen that makes it easy to read texts and see photos. Easy-to-use home screen, operation buttons, and the ability to make payments using barcodes and QR codes with a long press of the fingerprint sensor are all features of the smartphone easy payment service "au PAY" that can be easily launched.
Simple Phone KYF43
Ability to adjust the audio quality of the other person's voice to make it easier to hear, with a high-quality audio communication function, simple menu screens, big letters and larger keys.

Services

au smart support
A membership-based service with a dedicated team of advisors offering tailored support for customers who have bought a mobile phone but are having difficulties using it or who want to buy one but feel anxious about using it, allowing customers to use their devices with confidence.
Blocking spam messages and calls (for smartphones)
A service that displays a warning when it detects probable spam text messages and phone calls, such as those for fraudulent bills. For incoming texts or calls from public utilities, companies, or other sources, the name of the sender or caller will automatically be displayed using the information from the yellow pages.
Blocking spam calls (for landlines)
A service for au Hikari phone option that blocks incoming spam phone calls, such as those for scams or solicitations, to a landline phone. Spam calls from an unknown numbers are automatically blocked without the need for a special setting.

Rates

Family Discount
Discount service with no fixed fee, for families using au smartphones or mobile phones.
Domestic SMS messaging (C-mail) and domestic calls among family are free 24 hours a day, based on certain contract conditions. Families living separately can also apply.
  1. *Can be combined with Smile-Heart Discount

Measures

Measures against money transfer frauds
For Individual subscriptions: Enhancing identity confirmation by restricting the payment methods for usage fees; preventing mass fraudulent subscriptions by restricting the number of subscribable lines; enhancing screening via information sharing among mobile phone and PHS companies about subscribers of lines whose identities cannot be confirmed; and suspending the use of land-line telephone numbers that were used for money transfer frauds or other particular kind of frauds at the request of the National Police Agency.
KDDI Smartphone and Mobile Phone Safety Classes
Supporting "consumer education" run by local authorities, we explain the basic operation of smartphones and tablets and how to use them safely, mainly for users aged 70 and under.

for Users with disabilities

Products

Simple Phone KYF43
Features a text-to-speech function that, once set up, will read aloud menu options, e-mails, and other text.
This can be used as an aid not only by elderly people with diminished eyesight but by other visually impaired people.

Services

Billing Information in Braille
Service for visually impaired users to receive monthly usage billing information in braille (including amount charged and breakdown).

Rates

Smile-Heart Discount
Provides discounted rates for persons with disabilities to make au mobile phones easier to use.
As of August 2023, the discounts are available to holders of a physical disability certificate, rehabilitation certificate, certification of psychiatric disorder, medical care certificate for specified diseases, registration certificate for specified diseases or medical expenses certificate for specified intractable diseases.
  1. *Registration is also possible through the smartphone disability certificate app "MIRAIRO ID" (in-store only).

Measures

Sign language support service
  • We offer support for contract procedures in sign language at a KDDI directly managed outlet (au Style SHINJUKU). We also offer remote sign language support using tablet-based video conferencing functions at several KDDI directly managed outlets.
  • We have set up sign language support counters at the Customer Center and are providing support for inquiries using sign language via video.

for LGBTQ+

Rates

Family Discount service available to same-sex partners
Eligibility for family-oriented services such as au Family Discount extends to formally certified same-sex partners.

for Everyone

Initiatives through MVNO

KDDI Group companies: JCOM Co., Ltd. and BIGLOBE Inc. offer a variety of services to suit its customers' needs, including low-cost communication services to reduce the cost burden for customers.

Initiatives to stop smartphone use while walking, cycling, and driving

  • In the KDDI Group, we are working to eradicate "smartphone usage while driving and in motion" and conducting awareness campaigns in collaboration with local governments through events that feature content such as VR experiences like "STOP! Smartphone Use While Cycling."

Extensive variations of 5G unit lineup and multi-brand offerings

  • Since the launch of "au 5G" in 2020, all smartphones in the new lineup have been 5G models. In addition to mobile routers and home routers that provide instant internet access without the need for line installation, we have also introduced 5G-compatible tablets since 2022 to meet the diverse needs of our customers.
  • UQ mobile and povo are also 5G-compatible, providing a wide range of products and services to choose from that meet customers' needs.
Society