Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Rakuten selects NEC to build Open vRAN Architecture

Wednesday, June 05, 2019  , , ,  

Rakuten Mobile has selected NEC to build its 5G open vRAN infrastructure in Japan.

Through the partnership, Rakuten and NEC will jointly develop a 3.7 GHz massive MIMO 5G antenna radio unit (RU), which will be manufactured by NEC at its facilities in Japan. Rakuten and NEC/Netcracker are already working together on an end-to-end BSS/OSS solution to support the mobile network launch and subsequent operations.

Rakuten Mobile is building a fully virtualized, end-to-end cloud-native mobile network.

In April 2019, Rakuten Mobile received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for its 5G special radio station deployment plan and aims to launch 5G services in June 2020.

"We are very excited to partner with a network technology leader such as NEC in building the world's first 5G open RAN architecture here in Japan," said Tareq Amin, chief technology officer of Rakuten Mobile, Inc. "NEC's technology and expertise will allow us to not only cost-effectively create a highly secure, high quality 5G network, but by designing and producing the antennas in the local market, we look forward to contributing to the development of the Japanese telecommunications industry and economy."

"NEC is delighted to contribute to Rakuten Mobile's strategy for building the world's first fully virtualized, end-to-end cloud native mobile network," said Atsuo Kawamura, executive vice president and president of the Network Services Business Unit at NEC Corporation. "Going forward, NEC aims to drive the global expansion of virtualized network architecture with Rakuten Mobile."

Rakuten will use Small Cells powered by Qualcomm

Monday, February 25, 2019  , , , ,   

Rakuten upcoming next-generation end-to-end cloud-native mobile network across Japan will use small cells based on Qualcomm FSM Small Cell Platforms. Rakuten plans to utilize small cells to reduce site acquisition and deployment cost and to provide indoor capacity. Rakuten will leverage network virtualization and small cells from the start and thereby create a network that can be scaled easily and deliver on the promise of 5G experiences to subscribers. Qualcomm's...

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Rakuten picks Mavenir's NFV-Based RCS

Tuesday, February 19, 2019  , ,   

Rakuten, which is preparing to launch Japan’s newest mobile network, selected Mavenir for. The deployment will include Mavenir’s 5G ready platform that monetizes voice and messaging in a single application for least-cost roaming, integration to Rakuten ID single sign-on, that is completely cloud-based with full NFV deployed on the Rakuten Cloud Platform. Mavenir’s fully virtualized RCS AS and Client will enable Rakuten to launch new innovative services...

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Rakuten invests in Altiostar for virtual RAN

Tuesday, February 12, 2019  , , , ,   

Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce and fintech company and soon to be the operator of Japan’s newest mobile network, will make a strategic investment in Altiostar Networks, a start-up based in Tewksbury, Mass. The investment is subject to approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Altiostar provides a 5G-ready virtualized RAN software solution that supports open interfaces and disaggregates the hardware from the software...

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Rakuten picks VIAVI to validate cloud-native mobile network

Wednesday, January 23, 2019    

Rakuten, one of the world's leading internet services companies and soon to be the newest mobile network operator in Japan, selected the VIAVI TM500 system to support the rapid deployment of a nationwide, end-to-end cloud-native mobile network. Rakuten offers e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications services to over one billion members worldwide. The company received approval for its 4th generation mobile communications system (4G)...

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It may not be too late for cloud giants to enter the mobile market

Sunday, April 22, 2018  ,   

It was over