Internet Access

There are a few internet service provider (ISP) options available to you.

Yahoo BB

Yahoo BB is the most widespread ISP and there's a very useful service called BBApply which helps English-speakers (and JETs in particular) get signed up with the service. It is especially useful for people from the US as calling the US from a house/apartment with YahooBB only about ¥2.5 per minute.

Pros	Cons
Cheap landline Good international rates Easy to turn into a network or use with wireless	Dodgy English service May have to deal wth NTT Not available in all areas

Friendly site for Gaijin: http://www.eikaiwa.net/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

Local cable company

List of regional providers

Pros	Cons
Flexble bandwidth pricing plans Available wherever there is cable TV Don't need a landline.	Dodgy English service May be hard to get setup

ISDN/ADSL

NTT Flets
OCN
Asahi net

Pros	Cons
Great if you already have a landline	Not available in all areas Need a landline

Fiber Optics

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Wireless service

Wireless services can be split into 3 basic categories: Wireless Data, Mobile Broadband, and Advanced Mobile Broadband/WiMAX.

Wireless Data

Wireless Data services (such as those offered by Willcom) are prohibitively expensive and prohibitively slow. As 3G mobile broadband networks have become nearly ubiquitous, there is very little reason to even consider this an option.

Mobile Broadband

While 3G mobile broadband service can be had from any of the major cellphone providers (and as such, deals can be added onto existing data plans for your phone, if and you have one), the largest and most well established networks for wireless data are run by emobile and softbank (they share networks). Speeds are promised around 7.2 down and 5.2 up, but what you actually get is closer to 3.0 down and .3 up.

Pros	Cons
Service in almost all areas Great for laptops Able to use immediately after signing up Priced similarly or less than home internet	Slow Requires lengthy contract

Advanced Mobile Broadband/WiMAX

In recent years, several carriers have begun to roll out their advanced mobile broadband networks. These networks show huge increases in speeds, with comparitively little increase in cost. Emobile offers a 21Mbps service for only ~￥1,000 more than their 7.2Mbps service. Then there is WiMax, an advanced mobile broadband network run by UQWiMAX, for competitive prices (~￥4,500 a month) they offer promised speeds of up to 40Mbps. With these speeds and prices, Advanced Mobile Broadband could very well be an alternitive to more traditional home internet solutions. The only problem is in avaliability, unless you are in the city, chances are you won't be able to get it.

Pros	Cons
Fantastic speeds Great for laptops Able to use immediately after signing up Priced similarly or less than home internet	Not that widely avaliable yet Requires lengthy contract