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Guide to Smarter Contract: NURO HIKARI

NURO HIKARI(NURO光) is provided by Sony Corporation, the well-known company for its technology products.

NURO HIKARI started its service in 2013 and has successfully raised its brand awareness in Japan, and these days, the service is getting popular even among expats in Japan.

This article explains NURO HIKARI(Nuro光)'s speed, charges, bundle deal, and official promotion.

Features of NURO HIKARI

Internet Speed

The max speed of NURO HIKARI(NURO光)'s main service is 2Gbps, and it's much faster than those of other common fiber optic internet services which are 1Gbps(of course, it's only the max speed. Average speed of the internet can vary according to users' networking environment).

The reason why only NURO HIKARI's max speed can be 2Gbps is its special technology called G-PON.

G-PON is one of the technologies that connect fiber optic internet by sharing an optical fiber with multiple users. There is a similar technology called GE-PON, and all Japanese internet services except NURO HIKARI use GE-PON.

G-PON makes internet speed twice faster than GE-PON does, and that is why NURO HIKARI's max speed is 2 times faster than the others.  

Because of the fast speed, NURO HIKARI is popular among heavy internet users like gamers or YouTubers in Japan. 

Monthly Charge

Many people assume that NURO HIKARI(NURO光) would be very expensive because it is much faster than other services in Japan, but actually, it is not.

Below are NURO HIKARI's monthly charges for Home Course and Mansion Course(those are payment courses. Home Course is for people who live in a house, Mansion Course is for people who live in an apartment).

According to the table, the monthly charge of NURO HIKARI's Home Course is 5,200 yen/month. And, this is actually cheaper with monthly charges of other internet services' Home Courses.

Below are the table compares prices of other internet services' Home Courses with those of NURO HIKARI.

So, you can see that regardless of the speediness, the fee of NURO HIKARI's Home Course is actually the cheaper more than those of other services in Japan.

Besides, NURO offers High-speed Wireless LAN Service (wireless ac router rental service for WiFi) 

So, NURO HIKARI is strongly recommended for people who live in a house in Japan.

Mansion Course(apartments) is also cheap, but unfortunately, getting a contract is relatively difficult now as NURO's services are still new in Japan, and only a few apartments have installed the line for Mansion Course.

You can check the availability of NURO HIKARI Mansion Course at your apartment at official web site.

NURO HIKARI for Mansion (Check availability, only Japanese)

If your apartments are not available for Mansion Course, even if you live in an apartment, you should get a contract for Home Course of NURO HIKARI.

Initial Fee & Installation Fee

The initial fee of NURO HIKARI(NURO光) is 3,300 yen and installation fee for the installation of fiber optic line is 44,000 yen. The installation fee is on the monthly installment and charged 1,222 yen per month for 36 months.   

However, as NURO HIKARI offers a monthly discount through a promotion, the actual installation fee could be considered as free if you use NURO HIKARI internet for more than 36 months.

NURO HIKARI charges 1,222 yen a month for 36 months but at the same time offers 1,222 yen discount a month for 36 months(for more details about the promo are NURO HIKARI Official Promotion on this page). That is how the fee gets actually free.

*The actual installation fee could be considered as free after 24 months if you make a contract for NURO HIKARI with a 2-year contract, but the monthly fee for the contract is 5,700 yen which is more expensive than those of a 3-year contract.

Smartphone Bundled Deal

NURO HIKARI(NURO光) offers a monthly bundled discount for whom use NURO HIKARI internet and SoftBank smartphone together. 

Below is the table of discounts for SoftBank smartphone's data plans.

*If there are multiple SoftBank smartphone users in one's family, by making a contract for NURO HIKARI, each member can get a discount depending on their data plans.

To get a bundled discount, users additionally need to get a contract for NURO's internet home phone service called NURO HIKARI Phone(NURO光 でんわ, 550 yen/month).

However, because the monthly discounts of bundled discounts(from 550 to 1,100 yen) are the same with the monthly charge of NURO HIKARI Phone or more (and users can get multiple discounts for family members who use SoftBank smartphone service),

It is actually advantageous to get a contract for NURO HIKARI Phone to get bundled discount especially when you have family members who use SoftBank mobile service(even if you don't need a home phone service).  

Cons of NURO HIKARI

Limited Service Area 

NURO HIKARI(NURO光)'s service area is limited comparing with other internet services in Japan.

NURO HIKARI's service area is limited to the areas below. 

• Kanto Area(Tokyo, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saimata, Chiba, and Kanagawa)
• Kansai Area(Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, and Nara)
• Tokai Area(Aichi, Shizuoka, Mie, and Gifu)
• Hokkaido
• Kyushu(Fukuoka, Saga)
• Chugoku(Hiroshima, Okayama)

In other words, only people who live in those areas can get a contract for NURO HIKARI. 

Comparing with the service area of internet providers, who share FLET's HIKARI's line, which covers 95% of areas in Japan, NURO HIKARI's service area is very limited. 

Installation & Activation Time  

The shortest time for NURO HIKARI's installation and activation is 3 weeks. However, if there are too many people who want to make a contract for NURO HIKARI at the same time in your area, it could take 2 months or more to finish the installation.

That's because unlike other internet services in Japan, NURO HIKARI's installation needs two separate works on two different dates.   

*Plus whether you live in a rented house or a rented apartment, you need to get permission from the house owner for NURO HIKARI's installation.

If you don't meet the conditions above, other internet service providers who share FLET's HIKARI's line like SoftBank HIKARI(especially if you are a SoftBank smartphone user) or Docomo HIKARI are recommended(clicking those providers' names leads you to the services' brief details).

au HIKARI is also recommended since it's one of the cheapest fiber optic internet services in Japan(service area covers 70% of areas in Japan).  

NURO HIKARI Official Promotion

Here is the NURO HIKARI(NURO光)'s official promotion by NURO HIKARI the provider. It offers a monthly discount on the installation fee, cashback, and other free services. 

*This promotion only applies to those who make an online contract for NURO HIKARI through the promotional web page below.     

NURO HIKARI(NURO光) Cashback Promotion

Monthly Charge 3-year contract: 5,200 yen 2-year contract: 5,700 yen Cashback Amount 60,000 yen + Free fiber installation • Promotional web page: NURO HIKARI (Japanese only)

Want to Know Other Fiber Optic Internet Services in Japan?

If you still not sure if NURO HIKARI is best fiber-optics service for you, here is the article the compares internet speeds, prices, and etc. of Japanese fiber optic services like au HIKARI(auひかり) and FLET'S HIKARI(フレッツ光) in addition to NURO HIRAI(NURO光).

⇒ Speed & Price Comparison of Fiber Optic Services