Opensignal Releases Analysis Report on Inbound Travelers' Use of Domestic Mobile SIM Cards

Are inbound travelers to Japan experiencing 'connection loss'? The quality of experience with local SIM cards significantly surpasses that of roaming.

In the era of 42.7 million inbound visitors, raising awareness at airports and along travel routes presents a new growth opportunity for operators.

Opensignal (Headquarters: London) has released its latest analysis report, "Beyond Roaming: How Japanese Operators Can Win Inbound Travelers," detailing the domestic mobile SIM card usage experience for inbound travelers visiting Japan.

This analysis categorizes travelers' connection methods into 'roaming with their home operator,' 'travel eSIM,' and 'local SIM in Japan,' comparing the experience quality and usage trends for each.

Key Analysis Findings

Local SIMs Offer a Superior Experience to Roaming

Users who switched to a local SIM in Japan achieved a Network Quality Index (NQI) of 94.7%, significantly surpassing the 87.6% for travel eSIM users and 73.6% for roaming users.

NQI is an indicator of how well a connection environment allows for comfortable use of everyday apps such as Google Maps, travel apps, and social media posting when connected to the internet abroad. It reflects actual usability during travel, not just communication speed.

Longer Stays Lead to Increased Switching to Local SIMs For short trips, there is a strong tendency to continue using roaming, with a roaming usage rate reaching 67% for stays of 3 to 7 days. On the other hand, for stays exceeding two weeks, the roaming usage rate drops to 53%, and switching to local SIMs increases. The proportion of local SIM users expanded to 21% for stays over two weeks and 42% for stays over four weeks.

Connection Method Choices Vary by Origin Market Visitors from the Asia-Pacific region and the United States show high roaming usage rates, with nearly 80% of visitors from the US continuing to use their home operator.

Conversely, visitors from the UK, Canada, and Australia exhibit relatively low roaming usage rates and a stronger tendency to choose local SIMs or travel eSIMs. This is thought to be influenced by the high cost of roaming fees and awareness of alternative options.

SoftBank Leads the Local SIM Switching Market Among travelers who switched to a local SIM in Japan, SoftBank accounted for 34%, demonstrating a presence that exceeds its domestic market share. IIJ followed with 26%.

By origin, SoftBank is popular among visitors from South Korea and Hong Kong, while NTT Docomo holds the largest share among travelers from the Philippines. au ranked top for visitors from Thailand and also received high support from travelers from the US and Australia.

Opportunities for Japanese Operators

While roaming is convenient, communication traffic may pass through the user's home network, leading to increased latency and reduced experience quality. This quality degradation tends to be more pronounced for visitors from countries and regions farther from Japan. However, many travelers are not fully aware of this mechanism or the quality difference compared to local SIMs.

In many cases, roaming is used as the default setting rather than being a clearly chosen option. This awareness gap is precisely the growth opportunity for Japanese operators.

Japan's tourism boom continues to expand, but its benefits have not yet been fully reflected in the revenue of domestic operators. By clearly communicating the price, ease of use, and quality of experience of local SIMs, the inbound market can become a new growth area for operators.

Reference Material

Beyond Roaming: How Japanese Operators Can Win Inbound Travelers

Note: This content is a translation of the English version. If there are any inconsistencies with the Japanese version, the English version takes precedence.

About Opensignal

Opensignal is a global provider of independent insights into consumer network experience and decision-making. Operators can leverage Opensignal's unique insights into mobile and broadband networks to improve profitability and gain solutions to win in the industry, ranging from executive-level scorecards and public validation to specific engineering analysis and consumer decision-making. Our analytical methods are proprietary, ensure high transparency, and help all operators continuously improve their network connectivity. We have headquarters in the US, Canada, and the UK, with sales offices in South America and Asia.