The Fair Trade Commission is considering carrying out a survey of the cellphone market including smartphones to uncover possible unfair business practices, FTC Secretary-General Shuichi Sugahisa has said.
The antitrust watchdog conducted a similar survey in 2018 after low-cost smartphone service providers entered the market. In the survey, the FTC found carriers’ plans for customers to buy smartphones in 48 monthly installments problematic because the system could make it difficult for users to cancel their contracts.
If questionable practices are found in the planned survey, the FTC would urge carriers concerned to stop them. The survey may benefit Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s goal of cutting mobile phone fees as a result.
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