Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Winners of the five categories were announced at FutureNet Asia 2022 Two Awards for Rakuten


The leading solution for network automation deployed in APAC

Winner: Rakuten Symphony

Shortlist: Blue Planet, A Division of Ciena, B-Yond, Rakuten Symphony, Spirent Communications, VMware


The most innovative automated service orchestration solution deployed in APAC

Winner: Robin.io

Shortlist: Amdocs, Anuta Networks, Jio Platforms, Juniper Networks, Robin.io

https://futurenetworld.net/events/futurenet-asia/event-awards/  

Joseph Waring 11 NOV 2022 (Joseph Waring joins Mobile World Live as the Asia editor for its new Asia channel)

On an earnings call, CEO Tareq Amin said profitability will improve with all subscribers shifting off free plans to paid and costs to drop dramatically after network capex peaks at the end of the year.

„The major build of our network is done,“ he said, noting base station construction and opex will fall significantly.

Amin said its bottom-line will also benefit from a reduction in roaming costs, noting 95 per cent of traffic runs on its own infrastructure.

ARPU increased to JPY2,588 with the transition to new pricing plans, Amin said. The figure includes an undefined ecosystem contribution.

Data usage rose 35 per cent.

Its overall subscriber base increased 13.7 per cent to 5.8 million.

Rakuten Symphony had bookings from 14 customers valued at $3.1 billion.

In response to reports it cut staff, Amin explained the company needs fewer employees as the network rollout comes to a close, with many shifted to other departments.

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/...nt-costs-will-fall/  

8 November 2022

Automation of the RAN: The Operators Playbook to vRAN and Open RAN

“Rethink forecasts that MNOs will spend $32bn from 2022 to 2026, and of that $7bn will go on RAN automation. Of that forecast amount $3bn will be spent on components related to vRAN or Open RAN, showing that most MNOs’ RAN automation strategies will be closely linked with vRAN and/or Open RAN.”

https://rethinkresearch.biz/reports-category/...-to-vran-and-open-ran  

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/...N-Global-PlugFest-Fall-2022  

beim wichtigsten deutschen Partner von Rakuten Symphony:

https://www.teltarif.de/1und1-5g-netz-antennen/news/89931.html  

Rakuten is a large conglomerate of e-commerce, financial, telecom, and consumer service dominating the Japanese online economy. The telecom segment has been a major cash drain and spooked investors out. This has led investors to ignore the strong growth and business quality and left the company widely undervalued

https://www.google.de/...zGJIBBDMzLjWYAQCgAQGwAQo&sclient=gws-wiz  

Finding the Right Reasons for Open Networks

Cost savings is a big part of the story, of course. However, as the open networks movement has advanced over the past few years, it is becoming increasingly clear that the industry has left out some key details in making the cost savings sales pitch, especially as it relates to the buildout of greenfield networks as compared to brownfield, which most CSPs will start with.

Several examples of cost savings cases illustrate this point:

         •§With open RAN networks being built to accommodate increasing volumes of network traffic, NEC predicts energy costs will fall by 20% compared to comparable legacy networks. However, in the preliminary stages, energy costs could actually increase slightly compared to traditional configurations.

         •§NEC expects system integration costs to ultimately fall below current levels as a share of total network costs as standardized interfaces take hold and legacy components are swapped out. The first phase of open RAN deployment is likely to see a short-term jump in SI cost, mainly because of the high percentage of Open RAN deployments that will happen in brownfield scenarios; however, lab research is underway currently by vendors including NEC to streamline and accelerate integration activities, which will generate increasing cost savings over time.

         •§NEC estimates a 30% lower capex per radio unit due, as well as a decrease of 15% per distributed unit/centralized unit (DU/CU) as configuration scenarios mature and the number of vendors increases. However, it will take a number of larger open RAN deployments before the precise magnitude of the capex savings is clearly established.

So, while it is clear that cost savings will be an increasingly significant rationale for building open networks, CSPs should realize that many of those savings will not materialize right away. Still, while the industry messaging remains ahead of reality, we remain confident that those cost savings will become more apparent as 5G traffic volumes continue to grow and the open NEC estimates that the benefits to Open RAN deployment could range from 16%-19% based on a five-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) basis compared to legacy RAN, growing to 23-27% over a 10-year period.
And the sooner the better: as we will address in future articles, NEC believes the earliest adopters will reap the many benefits of open networks first – more automated efficiency through RIC and xApps deployment, more access to new greenfield business opportunities in enterprise and the public sector, energy savings and a lower carbon footprint, more flexibility to continue growing in the cloud-native world, all of which will allow CSPs to better monetize their investments in 5G and beyond.

https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/5g/...bout-Open-Networks.html

 

Viber’s significant contributions to Phl market in 2022, what to expect in 2023

By THE PHILIPPINE BUSINESS AND NEWS

2 days ago

Rakuten Viber reveals an overall increase in Viber’s app users across Asia Pacific (APAC) this year, with the Philippines recording a robust 22% increase. Locally in the Philippines, 19% more users sent one-to-one messages compared to last year. Also, 19% more users in the country sent messages in group chats this year, revealing a strong preference for texting. Filipinos have shown a great interest in My Notes – 37% more Filipinos used Notes to sync to-do lists and media across all their devices in 2022.
Apart from Lenses and Stickers, businesses are seen leveraging Advertising solutions to increase their visibility and attract new users. In 2022, the number of average monthly Ads impressions on Viber reached astounding 6B worldwide, with more than 680M impressions in the Philippines. Among the top-performing ads verticals in the Philippines were: travel & hospitality which grew by 430%, employment & education by 403%, legal services by 396%, media & publishing by 371%, and IT & telecom by 369%.

This year brands showed an even stronger interest in Viber Business Messaging solutions as a tool to build connections with consumers in their favorite messaging app. In 2022, in the Philippines Viber recorded:

A 16% growth in the number of business message accounts created.

An overall 13% increase of Business Messages delivered.

An 83% spike in conversational messages (e.g. around-sales support, receiving feedback, and more), showing that brands and users increasingly rely on real conversations (rather than the regular one-way messages), contributing to the rise of conversational commerce.

An astounding 603% increase in transactional messages (order confirmations, delivery trackings, appointment reminders, one-time passwords, and more), showcasing the growing need for important notifications in brand-user interactions.

An 11% growth in the number of promotional messages (e.g. special offers, discounts).

A 34% increase in the number of Chatbots.

Trends for the future

This year, Viber has also taken its superapp strategy one step further by introducing its own safe and secure cross-border digital payment solution. Payments on Viber allows users to send money to each other as easily as sending a message. Launched initially via waitlist in some European markets, it will roll out to more countries in the near future, including the Philippines. Payments on Viber extends the app’s utility and value to make it absolutely essential for its hundreds of millions of users and—with more upcoming updates—for thousands of brands.

Viber will be taking a few more major steps along its path as a superapp next year. First, the app will give brands the opportunity to host all their business information, services, and channels of communication on Viber in a single meta-business entity, and let users easily find businesses they need and interact with them.

Additionally, Viber will be introducing a dedicated folder that will help users organize their conversations with brands in a way that’s convenient to them, improve user experience, and boost brand visibility.

https://thephilbiznews.com/2022/12/16/...2022-what-to-expect-in-2023/

 

Boosted by continued growth in the number of cards issued and high usage rates, Rakuten Card's shopping gross transaction value (GTV) in Q3 FY2022 reached 4.6 trillion yen, up 27.4% YoY, and its market share of Japan's domestic shopping GTV expanded steadily to 23.0% (as of August 2022).

https://www.google.de/...zGJIBBDMzLjWYAQCgAQGwAQo&sclient=gws-wiz  

5G connections will surpass 1 billion in 2022 and 2 billion by 2025, and 5G will account for over a fifth of total mobile connections

5G technology, when combined with edge computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, enables network customization like never before, providing a unique opportunity to build and control the network experience end-to-end. Unlike 4G, the speed, latency abilities and application potential of 5G carves out a purpose far beyond consumer devices. According to a GSMA report, 5G connections will surpass 1 billion in 2022 and 2 billion by 2025, and 5G will account for over a fifth of total mobile connections. Beyond mobile phones, 5G will play a major role in key industries, like healthcare, manufacturing, defense and more, keeping critical systems and applications running. As these networks continue to gain traction in enterprise operations, the need for heightened security increases. Private networks, locally hosted or via the cloud, offer a path to data ownership, high levels of security, application customization, and differentiated performance.

https://www.pipelinepub.com/news/...r-up-to-build-private-5g-solution  

Viber has penetrated 91% of smartphones in 2022, making it the leading communication app in Greece

Viber Review for Greece in 2022: The trends that define the future of communication

3 days ago

Messaging is at the top with an annual growth of 10% in Greece. Communication between businesses and users in our country is strengthened with 176% more new business accounts compared to the previous year.

THE Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading companies in personal and secure messaging and voice communication, publishes the main trends that determined how Greek users and companies in Greece used the application in 2022. The communication application, owned by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has over one billion downloads on Android devices worldwide. In Greece, Viber has penetrated 91% of smartphones in 2022, making it the leading communication app in the country.

In 2022, the number of average monthly ad impressions on Viber reached the significant number of 6 billion worldwide, with 580 million of these impressions located in Greece. The app has seen a 100% increase in the number of direct advertisers wishing to promote their products and services on Viber in Greece.

https://hellas.postsen.com/local/205557/Vib  

WhiteBIT and Viber unite online fans at the biggest football event of the year

https://cointelegraph.com/press-releases/...ootball-event-of-the-year  

New online-offer from Rakuten Travel and Rakuten Insurance

https://www.rakuten-insurance.co.jp/news/article/2022/20221215/  

Märkte, dass die Cash densNonfinancial-Sektor ausreichend ist, um die Zeit zu überbrücken, bis das Gesamtunternehmen einen positiven Cash Flow from Operations (m.E. schon in Q2/2023) erreicht und daraus auch noch die Investitionen finanzieren kann.

198.8 billion JPY + 77.5 billion JPY + 68.2 billion JPY = 344.5 billion JPY ($ 2.52 billion) cash of non-financial businesses of Rakuten

First: Cash of non-financial businesses on September 30, 2022 = 198.8 billion

Second: Dividends from a Consolidated Subsidiary Rakuten Securities of JPY 77.5 billion in dividends from Rakuten Securities

Third: $500  USD-denominated Unsecured Bond due November 2024 = 68.2 billion JPY

Und bei den Investitionen kann Rakuten ja kürzer treten, da im Mobile schon fast steht. Und wenn man doch mehr auf die Tube drücken will, kann man m.E. auch noch 20% seiner 100% an Rakuten Bank verkaufen. Vielleicht war der von mir schon öfter angedachte Verkauf der fast 50% an Cabify oder gar ein Teilverkauf von Viber doch so keine gute Idee, da sie die Japan-Lastigkeit verstäkrt hatte und eigentlich ist das Gegenteil angebracht.  

How Rakuten Symphony is making a Difference in Telecom Sustainability…

By Anna Khoruzhaya

Head of Sustainability Rakuten Symphony

December 13, 2022

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...erence-in-telecom-sustainability  

https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/...pen-ran-less-urgent  

Auch beim 5G Ausbau bündeln Accenture und umlaut ihre Kompetenzen und errichten für 1&1 das erste OpenRAN-Netz Deutschlands. Ein Telefonat mit Hakan Ekmen und Björn Uhr.

Was verbirgt sich hinter dem neuen Standard Open RAN?

Hakan Ekmen: Das RAN, also Radio Access Network, ist der Teil der Mobilfunknetze, mit dem sich Mobilfunkgeräte wie z.B. unsere Smartphones verbinden. Typischerweise kommen alle RAN Komponenten eines Netzes von ein und demselben Hersteller, weil die RAN Komponenten nicht über offene Schnittstellen verfügen. Der neue OpenRAN-Ansatz ist eine offene Architektur, mit Schnittstellen für viele Partner. Insbesondere bei der Hardware wird nur auf Standardsysteme nach dem Intel X86 Standard gesetzt, was nicht nur die Hardwarekosten senkt, sondern es auch einer Vielzahl neuer Spieler erlaubt, mit eigenen Softwareentwicklungen in den Markt eintreten zu können, ohne ein komplettes Ende zu Ende RAN Ökosystem entwickeln zu müssen, was z.B. den Einsatz handelsüblicher Hardware ermöglichen soll. Zwischen Antenne und der Basisstation wird Software eingesetzt, die jederzeit angepasst werden kann. Dadurch erhöht sich einerseits die Flexibilität der Mobilfunkbetreiber, durch geschickte Partnerwahl ihre Netze vom Wettbewerb zu differenzieren, und andererseits kann wegen des größeren Wettbewerbs auf der Systemanbieterseite mit sinkenden Anschaffungskosten gerechnet werden.

Björn Uhr: Open RAN sorgt also für verstärkten Wettbewerb bei den Lieferanten der Netzinfrastruktur und damit für günstigere Preise bei gleichzeitig höherer Flexibilität bei der Wahl der Lieferanten, ….

Bislang?

Björn Uhr: Als einer der ersten Netzbetreiber will in Deutschland 1&1 von dieser Technikoption Gebrauch machen – und damit sein 5G Netz flächendeckend ausrüsten. Der japanische Branchenriese Rakuten will dafür die Technik liefern, das Netz aufbauen und somit auch in Europa Fuß fassen. Accenture und umlaut begleiten dieses hochinnovative Vorhaben. Das Interesse aller Marktteilnehmer an diesem Netzaufbau ist dementsprechend groß – und das nicht nur in Deutschland.

Wie kam es zu der Zusammenarbeit mit Accenture?

Björn Uhr: Rakuten wird den Netzaufbau Ende-zu-Ende als Lieferant und Generalunternehmer verantworten und muss viele involvierte Partner managen. Für das aktive Projektmanagement all dieser Parteien, Projekte und Streams wird Rakuten Accenture beauftragen. Das Unternehmen ist erste Wahl, wenn es darum geht Projekte dieser Größe digital zu begleiten, zu automatisieren und zu skalieren. umlaut wurde von Accenture aufgrund unserer großen Erfahrung besonders im Mobilfunk als Partner ausgewählt.

Accenture schließt Übernahme von umlaut ab

Und welche Rolle spielt umlaut bei der Kooperation?

Hakan Ekmen: umlaut hat im Mobilfunk weitreichendes Know-how im Ende-zu-Ende Engineering. Das geht von der Planung über den Aufbau, die Inbetriebnahme bis hin zum Testing. Im Juni 2021 haben wir zuletzt ein LTE-Netz (4G) von Rakuten in Tokio getestet, die in Japan nicht nur Lieferant sondern auch Netzbetreiber sind. Als einer der ersten Player mit einem Open RAN-Standard erreichte Rakuten den umlaut Score 926 von 1.000, was mit „sehr gut“ zu bewerten ist. Jetzt unterstützen wir den Aufbau des ersten 5G Open RAN-Netzwerks von Rakuten in Europa.

https://www.umlaut.com/de/stories/5g-das-beste-kommt-am-anfang  

seine Einstandskurse zu verbilligen.  

Rakuten’s Super Bowl Ad Return Will Emphasize Savings in an Uncertain Economy

The shopping platform plans a message fit for an economic downturn

By Megan Graham Dec. 8, 2022 6:00 am ET

Shopping platform Rakuten plans to return as a Super Bowl advertiser in February to highlight how it can help consumers save money shopping during an uncertain economic time.
The company, a U.S.-based division of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc., earlier this year made its first appearance as a Super Bowl advertiser to raise its awareness with U.S. customers. The ad was a success from a marketing perspective, Rakuten Americas Chief Marketing Officer Dana Marineau said, crediting it for a 10% increase in buyers in the months following the Super Bowl and a significant increase in inbound calls from merchants and retailers wanting to be part of the platform.
Sellers on Rakuten pay the company a commission for sending customers their way, and Rakuten shares part of that commission with customers as cash back.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/...ain-economy-11670455953?siteid=yhoof2
 

Zinserhöhungen für Rakuten ein Nonevent oder eher gut

Warum Rakuten dafür „bestraft“ wurde, ist m.E. nicht nachvollziehen. Denn Rakuten hat seinen Fremdkapitalbedarf mit sehr langen Laufzeiten für viel Jahre mit niedrigen Zinsen gesichert – und in wenigen Monaten dürften Kreditaufnahmen der Vergangenheit angehören, wenn zunächst der Cash Flow insgesamt und etwas nach hinten zeitversetzt sogar der operative Cash Flow von Rakuten Mobile positiv wird.

Und der Fintechbereich wird von diesen Zinserhöhungen wie Banken generell von diesen Entwicklungen profitieren.

Und für Anleger in Euro steigt über einen höheren Yen-Kurs (meines Erachtens der Hauptgrund für die Entscheidung der japanischen Notenbank) der in Euro ausgedrückte Kurs.

„DAX im Minus erwartet – Japanische Notenbank schockt die Märkte
Die Anleger waren nach den Sitzungen von Fed und EZB gerade dabei, kurz vor dem Fest ihren Frieden mit einer weiter harten Gangart der Geldpolitik im Kampf gegen die Inflation zu machen.
Da überrascht heute die Bank of Japan, bislang der Garant für eine lockere Geldpolitik, mit der Entscheidung, die Spanne für die langfristige Anleiherendite auszuweiten.
Die Entscheidung ist ein Hinweis darauf, dass auch in Japan bald eine Straffung der Geldpolitik anstehen könnte. Auch in Japan gibt es ein Problem mit anziehenden Preisen, wenngleich nicht auf so hohem Niveau wie hierzulande. Die Bank of Japan bereitet sich also ebenfalls auf eine Normalisierung ihrer Geldpolitik vor.“

https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/...tenbank-schockt-maerkte
 

Rakuten Mobile has no desire to be the 4th mobile operator in Japan. We are on our way to becoming the number one mobile operator in Japan.

Amin pointed out that the business is still in Phase 2 of its growth plan, with more expansion to come in the near future. “We target to reach 60,000 base stations and reach population coverage of 99%…Rakuten Mobile has no desire to be the 4th mobile operator in Japan. I believe we are on our way to becoming the number one mobile operator in Japan.”

The average annual purchase amount on Japan's leading e-commerce marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba, for Rakuten Mobile subscribers is 35,831 yen higher than for non-subscribers, greatly contributing to enhanced membership value. “Rakuten Mobile is contributing to significant synergies that are bringing benefits to the entire Rakuten Group,” Mikitani emphasized.

Just one year since its launch in August 2021, Rakuten Symphony has already taken great strides in its mission of democratizing connectivity for all. Within this short period of time, the company has made 16 technology partnerships and has 14 current customers as of Q3 FY2022, with bookings exceeding US$3.1 billion. The cumulative sales revenue from launch until Q3 FY2022 reached US$315 million.

“Symphony is a collection of components that are extremely unique. I believe that what Tesla did for EV, Rakuten is doing for mobile networks.”
-Tareq Amin, CEO Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony

https://www.reddit.com/r/RakutenUndervalued/..._to_be_the_4th_mobile/
 

bezahlte Internet-News, dass Rakuten mit seiner Open Ran-Strategie, die hervorragend funktioniert,  nicht durchkomme - obwohl alle drei Konkurrenten in Japan auf diese Strategie setzen.

Und dann werden, obwohl es da keinerlei Zusammenhänge gibt, die niedrigen Zahlen an neuen Usern angeführt. Aber das Problem für Rakuten war es die ganze Zeit, dass die Erlöse  durch neue User  in vielen Konstellationen die dadurch verursachten Roaming-Kosten unterschritten.

Der absehbare dramatische Rückgang der Roaming-Kosten wird aber dazu führen, dass Rakuten jetzt massiv Neukunden anwerben kann, die im Gegensatz zu bisher nicht die Verluste erhöhen, sondern reduzieren und dann auch den Break-Even-herbeiführen.  

https://www.reddit.com/r/RakutenUndervalued/...ch_segment_of_rakuten/
 

Criminals inside of S&P ignore, that the complete Raktuen-company will reach a positive cash flow from operations in Q2/2023 and Rakuten Mobile will reach a positive cash flow from operations in Q4/2023.  

Anzahl der Unique User IDs bei Viber bis September 2022

Veröffentlicht von L. Rabe, 14.11.2022

Diese Statistik zeigt die Anzahl Unique IDs bei Viber in ausgewählten Monaten zwischen März 2015 und September 2022. Im September 2022 lag die Anzahl der Unique IDs des Chat-Dienstes für Smartphones und Desktop-PCs, mit dem auch telefoniert werden kann, bei rund 1,4 Milliarden.

https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/...tzer-ids-bei-viber/