The move has certainly delivered value to shareholders. In its latest full-year result, thanks to the iPhone, the company more than doubled earnings to just over $1 billion. ARPU held firm thanks to its strong data growth, in contrast to the declining voice-centric revenues of its competitors.
Unlike every other telecom operator, Softbank is comfortable facing the future.
"Many people came from the telephone companies and are afraid of the internet. We are probably the first company to become a serious mobile operator from the internet world. We are not worried."
As a way of clearing the decks ahead of 4G, Softbank shut down its 2G network in March.
It has put its LTE plans on the backburner and will focus instead on HSPA+. According to Matsumoto, that's because LTE doesn't yet support voice and does not offer a great deal of additional download speed over HSPA+.
In the meantime, Softbank hopes to reap the benefits of running a single HSPA+ network, without the distractions of 2G or 4G, and offering download speeds of up to 42 Mbps.
The other issue is that it doesn't yet have all the spectrum it needs.