Japan's Softbank has become the nation's first operator to announce its plans to comply with the government's call to reduce mobile prices for customers who do not generate significant voice or data traffic.
The operator will introduce a low-cost option for light users starting in April at the earliest, the Japan Timesreported.
The new option will have a monthly fee of 4,900 yen ($41.85), which is nearly 25% lower than the operator's current cheapest voice and data option. This can be achieved by bundling a 1GB data plan priced at 2,900 yen with an unlimited five-minute call plan.
It also falls within the suggested price point of under 5,000 yen proposed by a government advisory panel.
Softbank rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI are expected to follow suit with similar plans to comply with the government's request.
Some users of mobile services in Japan have criticized the operator's current offerings as being designed for heavy users, making them expensive for lighter users.