Rakuten: The Future Mobile Network

Japan, January 30: Rakuten will soon become the first new mobile network operator (MNO) to launch in Japan in over a decade.

Since securing bandwidth approval from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in April 2018, Rakuten has been forging ahead with construction of its own new mobile network, driving world-first disruptive innovation.

They were planning a new architecture for the new network. During Rakuten Technology Conference 2018 in Tokyo last October, Rakuten Mobile Network Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Tareq Amin explained for the first time the revolutionary approach that his team is taking to build Japan’s fourth major network.

“The journey that we are embarking on in Japan will enable a complete transformation in the telecom infrastructure buildout. We are building the world’s first end-to-end fully virtualized cloud-native network!!,” Amin explained.

Rakuten has also been making headlines in Japan with its forays into 5G innovation, in partnership with firms such as Nokia, Altiostar, Cisco, Mavenir, Intel, Qualcomm, Quanta, and NEC. According to Amin, deploying “true” 5G is an integral part of Rakuten’s mobile journey.