(Associated Press via NewsEdge) The total number of mobile telephone subscriptions in Japan topped 100 million for the first time in January, a telecommunications association said.
Mobile phone service subscriptions rose to 100.22 million as of January 31, a 0.4% increase from 99.83 million the previous month, Japan's Telecommunications Carriers Association said in a statement.
The figure combines data for mobile phone contracts with subscriptions to personal handyphone systems, a type of mobile phone service developed in Japan.
The PHS service is known for its high voice quality and low power consumption, but the service area covered by each PHS base station is much smaller than systems using newer technologies.
The total number of subscriptions represents about 78% of Japan's population of 127.8 million, though that does not take into account the possibility of one person having multiple mobile phone contracts.
Mobile phone users are a ubiquitous sight in Japan, where people use the phones for everything from listening to music and downloading videos to sending email and surfing the Internet. Some more recent phone models are also equipped to function as electronic wallets.
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