Brastel Telecom ブラステル株式会社 or more commonly known as Brastel, is a Japanese telecommunications company based in Tokyo; they distribute international prepaid calling cards within Japan and Asia via convenience stores. Brastel's largest demographic are expats living in Japan and are one of the most commonly used calling services in Japan. The company was started in 1996 originally selling call back s
ervices, in 2000 they release the first rechargeable calling card in Japan, it shortly becomes Brastel's biggest source of income. Recently they have started to invest in IP phone technology through their FLIP and Basix services. They are also noted for their work in the Brazilian communities abroad for their involvement in the building of schools, providing seminars and lectures for the poorer and disadvantaged communities around the world. The promotion of Brazilian culture in Japan has played a prominent part of Brastel since the creation of sub company Tupiniquim Entertainment in 2005. Tupiniquim Entertainment primarily concentrates on the promotion of Brazilian movies, music, actresses/actors and culture in Japan. History
The Beginning
Formed in 1996 by Junji Tanabe and Kendi Kawai, Brastel was originally selling callback services to the Brazilian community within Japan, then in 1998 they made an agreement with KDDI (formally KDD) to allow international connections from Japan. Over the next two years the company worked on releasing an international rechargeable calling card. In 2000 the card was released and made available for free in convenience stores around Japan. Shortly after they introduced a paperless recharge system, Smart Pit, developed by NTT Comware. The Smart Pit system utilises a barcode printed on the back of the card allowing for quick and easy payments without coupons.
