CEO Tareq Amin said a per-appliance software subscription fee “killed my business model”
Rakuten Mobile is in the process of removing Red Hat software from its network deployment in Japan, and working with Rocky Linux for processing software workloads in distributed units across its Open...
With Open RAN, there’s the risk of trading vendor lock-in for system integrator lock-in
With greenfield success stories and increasing interest from brownfield players, it appears Open RAN is happening, but the question remaining is can it happen fast enough to meaningfully change the supplier...
Tareq Amin discussed the outlook for Rakuten Symphony software-first market approach
Over the past three-plus years, I’ve interviewed Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin a number of times in one-on-one and group settings. Based on these interactions, I’m certain of one overarching thing: Amin believes in...
Rakuten Mobile has 400 MHz of mmWave spectrum, which it plans to use for fixed wireless access
Movandi is providing Japan’s Rakuten Mobile with 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) smart repeaters and BeamXR Open-RAN technology to help the operator expand its outdoor and indoor coverage...
Rakuten Symphony noted that the Symware device is based on the Intel Xeon D processor
Rakuten Symphony announced the general availability for its Symware Open RAN distributed edge product, along with its plans to deploy 30,000 units across Rakuten Mobile’s network in Japan.
The Japanese company...
1&1 had contracted the deployment of its 5G network infrastructure to three companies
German operator 1&1 is experiencing delays in the deployment of its 5G network, and it won't be able to meet its deployment goals for this year, according to local press reports and...
Rakuten Mobile is carrying out joint R&D activities with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile announced the opening of a lab in which the telco says it utilizes all the technologies and experiences it has gained through...
1&1 said that the first customers will be able to start using internet services provided by its new 5G network in the summer
German carrier 1&1 recently completed the first live test in its new 5G network, the telco said in a statement.
“We are building...
KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, Rakuten Mobile and Softbank have all deployed mmWave 5G
Right now mmWave 5G deployments are focused on adding capacity to congested network hot zones, places like stadiums, music venues, shopping malls, transit hubs and dense central business or downtown areas. In addition...
Rakuten Mobile holds a 51% interest in Rakuten Mobile Infrastructure Solutions, while Tepco owns the remainder
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile has established a joint venture company with Tokyo Electric Power Grid (Tepco), with the aim of deploying base stations on the power company’s network assets.
The...
Rakuten Mobile’s FWA will run on both Sub-6 GHz and mmWave spectrum
Japanese mobile operator Rakuten Mobile expects to launch fixed wireless access (FWA) services in Japan in December, the telco’s CEO Tareq Amin said during a call with journalists.
“I’m just waiting for our CPE...
Rakuten Mobile's CTO Tareq Amin said that the telco now aims to accelerate 5G deployments across Japan
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile said it 4G network reached 97% of the country’s population as of the end of the first quarter of the year.
In its earnings statement,...
Rakuten Mobile's Open RAN 5G network leaves something to be desired in terms of both spectral efficiency and performance, according to new testing from Signals Research Group.
SRG conducted the tests over three days in late April, looking at both Rakuten's 5G and LTE networks....
Rakuten Mobile views digital twins as a fundamental requirement to achieve the validation of efficient and reliable networks in the future
Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile signed an agreement with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with the aim of collaborating on research into digital twins...
'The 1 Terabit per channel trial demonstrated the capability to dramatically increase fiber capacity,' said Nokia exec
Nokia and Rakuten Mobile announced the results of a January demonstration in which the pair successfully trialed a live 1 Terabit per channel (1 Tb/s) transmission over the carrier’s commercial...
NTT Docomo started using the JTower’s infra-sharing solution for its 4G network in 2016
JTower and NTT Docomo have decided to enter into a master transaction agreement with the aim of promoting infra-sharing of the latter's existing towers.
The contract will enable the companies to make...
Japanese carriers NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank Group and Rakuten Mobile are also part of this 6G initiative
Toyota Motor, NEC and other Japanese companies will join a government-backed group to propose technological requirements for future 6G wireless communications, Nikkei Asia reported.
The technical proposal is expected...
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai joins Rakuten Symphony Board of Directors
Rakuten Symphony, the evolution of the Rakuten Communications Platform, has an anchor client in new German market entrant 1&1, has spelled out its goal to address a $100 billion market, and hit Mobile World...
The massive MIMO radios will be used in Rakuten Mobile network in Japan and sold globally by Rakuten Symphony
Qualcomm and Rakuten Symphony are confident that they'll crack the code for Open RAN compatible 64T/64R massive MIMO radios that can rival integrated solutions from a...
Rakuten Symphony announced the expansion of its operations across the U.K., France and Germany.
The Japanese company noted that this expansion will allow the firm to support the business operations and growth in the European market and collaboration with operators and vendors in the region...
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile announced that the population coverage ratio for its 4G network has reached 96%.
Rakuten Mobile noted that the goal had been reached four years ahead of the target set when it initially outlined its deployment plan. This plan had been approved...
Japan is expected set up a wide-area experimental network as early as 2022 to experiment with 5G O-RAN networks, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported.
According to the report, the initiative will be led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Japan's leading communication companies....
Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin sees the company as a platform provider and partner rather than as a vendor
When he came from Reliance Jio to serve as upstart Rakuten Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer, Tareq Amin’s priority was to build and commercialize a network that...
Intel, Juniper Networks, and Rakuten Symphony announced a collaborative effort to develop Symware, a carrier-grade Open RAN (O-RAN) solution for mobile network operators to modernize radio cell sites.
Rakuten Symphony is a new business organization promoted by Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile, with the main aim...
