DoCoMo net signups up in March, nudges out KDDI

TOKYO, April 7 (Reuters) - Japan's biggest mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T) said on Tuesday the number of new users it signed up on a net basis surged in March, nudging out second-ranked KDDI Corp (9433.T) in the race for back-to-school demand.

"Sign-ups were 1.5 times what they were last year," a DoCoMo spokesman said.

DoCoMo signed up 278,200 users in March, up 59 percent from the previous year. KDDI gained 223,100 subscribers on a net basis last month.

Japan's No.3 mobile phone operator Softbank Corp (9984.T) continued to lead in terms of net sign-ups, which subtracts the number of cancellations from the number of new users. It had 381,700 net new users. (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi)