Whether you' just hooking up to the Internet, or have been online for years, there are a number of ways you can decrease your costs. Jeffrey Strain explains how

When it comes to the Internet, Japan has the worst of both worlds. In the US you must pay a monthly Internet provider fee which gives you unlimited access to the Internet, but local phone calls are free so there are no additional charges beyond that. In Europe, there are phone charges for the time you use the Internet, but Internet providers now tend to offer their service for free to keep customers from going to the competition. In Japan, however, you must pay Internet provider fees, which are still generally time based, as well as being required to pay NTT phone charges for the time you are on the Internet. What this all adds up to is some of the most expensive Internet access costs in the world.

There are several ways to help reduce these costs. If you have been on the Internet for a while, it's easy to get lazy once you have signed up with a provider and just stick with the familiar, but it's worth your time and effort every year or so to check out what new services and prices are being introduced. Like all aspects of the telecommunications industry, things related to the Internet are changing at a dramatic pace. As the competition increases, price reductions similar to those seen with cellular phones should take place.

Your first step should be to find an Internet provider that offers a program that fits the way you use the Internet. It's crazy to pay for unlimited access if you only use the Internet infrequently. Since in Japan most providers base their fees on the number of hours you use the Internet, plus expensive extra charges if you exceed your contracted monthly limit, it's important to figure out exactly how much time you really spend on the Internet. If you find you are consistently going over your monthly time limit, it may make sense to pay a higher base fee for more hours. Likewise, if you are using significantly less hours than you're paying for, it might be wise to switch to a less expensive program offering fewer hours. For those just hooking up to the Internet, a number of the larger providers offer free trail periods (usually 50 to 100 hours for a month), which will allow you to check out which provider fits your needs best. You can get software at most computer dealers or call/email the provider directly.

The next important way to reduce your Internet costs is to reduce the amount of money you pay to NTT. One program that all people who use the Internet for more than a couple of hours every month should sign up for is NTT's Time Plus. A regular local call between the hours of 8am and 11pm costs JY10 for three minutes, while it costs JY10 for four minutes between the hours of 11pm and 8am. Time plus costs JY200 a month (JY350 if you have an ISDN line), but your local phone calls get reduced to JY10 for five minutes during the day and JY10 for seven minutes at night. For anyone who spends even a few hours a month on the Internet, and especially for those who spend a great deal of time on it, this can amount to significant savings.

For those who live outside city centers where Internet providers have their access points, phone bills can be an even bigger problem. NTT also offers a plan called Area Plus which costs JY200 a month (JY350 for ISDN lines). This plan increases your local phone call area to a 20 kilometer radius from where you live. That means that if an Internet provider's access number is in a different area code, but still within a 20 mile radius of your home, you will only be charged the local phone call rate when using this plan. If you combine the both Time Plus and Area Plus, you'll be out JY400 in monthly charges, but you should more than make up for that on your phone bill savings.

For night owls, NTT offers their Telehodai plan. For JY1800 (JY2400 for ISDN lines) you aren't charged any phone fees by NTT between the hours of 11pm and 8am. You really do need to be a night owl, however, to make this plan worthwhile. Since the Time Plus plan lets you spend 70 minutes for JY100 during this time, you need to spend about 19 hours a month on the Internet during these late hours to make it worthwhile over Time Plus.

ISDN lines, although they significantly increase Internet speed, are still only economical for those who spend a significant amount of time on the Internet. NTT charges JY2800 in connection fees plus you need to buy an ISDN adapter for which NTT charges JY34,800 (you can get these adapters for less expensive prices at electronic stores). Your base monthly fee is JY2830 plus your regular monthly phone charges. It's definitely convenient having two phone lines and the ISDN speed, but these conveniences come at a steep price.

Telehodai: 0120-019-1166 (Recorded information in English. Select option two, monthly discount services.)
Time Plus/Area Plus: Dial 116 and request the access number for your ward or prefecture.

Next week: Internet providers and technological advances that could help you save money.

Reproduced by permission of Kansai Time Out.