Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

2/14/2022 3:11:37 PM

https://menafn.com/1103694559/...Day-chatbot-and-Lenses&source=30  

Rakuten Mobile has the potential to be a disruptive player

The parent companies of the three established MNOs each own fixed telecommunications companies, that provide consumer and business services, as well as other digital and media businesses.53 As an offshoot from e[1]commerce and online services of Rakuten Group, Rakuten Mobile first entered the Japanese market as an MVNO in October 2014, offering low-cost voice and data services, and launched as a full MNO on 8 April 2020. It relied on KDDI capacity in order to offer national coverage to support rollout of its own 4G network.54 Rakuten’s launch as an MNO was managed by MIC through a licence application process for new spectrum released in 1.7 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands in 2017-18.55 All four MNOs have launched 5G services.

Rakuten has the potential to be a disruptive player, as evidenced through price competition in the market since its entry, and its infrastructure sharing arrangements with utility companies to support 4G rollout (discussed further in Sections 2.5.3.3 and 2.5.4). Rakuten is also taking an innovative approach to 5G through Open RAN (further discussed in Section 4.8.2)

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/...gy-plum-report.pdf  

Open RAN: a framework for understanding the vendor ecosystem

11 March 2022

Caroline Gabriel

"The development of Open RAN has the potential to disrupt the 5G market and enable new players to compete alongside the five dominant equipment providers."

Vendor revenue from Open RAN products, components and services is forecast to reach USD 45.1 billion worldwide by 2026:

Software = $ 5.0 billion

Semiconductors = 5.1 billion

Cloud platforms = 7.2 billion

Hardware = 11.1 billion

Services = 16.6 billion

Development = N/a

https://www.analysysmason.com/research/content/...an-framework-rma18/  

DZS’s OpenRADN Mobile xHaul Solution wins at the Asian Telecom Awards with Rakuten Mobile
The innovator was awarded the Infrastructure Initiative of the Year.

With 5G technology gradually rolling out to replace and improve current telecommunications infrastructure, efforts by DZS towards providing the necessary equipment did not go unnoticed as they won the Infrastructure Initiative Award at the Asian Telecom Awards 2022.

The awards program recognises key players in the telecom industry in Asia tracing its heritage from Asian Mobile News which started in 2003. DZS distinguished itself with the DZS Chronos C1216RO, a hardened, Open RAN, fronthaul gateway with a dense package of features and cost-effective deployment and maintenance costs.

The gateway is a core part of Rakuten Mobile’s groundbreaking Open RAN network. Announced in 2018, it is the industry’s first cloud-native and fully virtualised mobile network. Rakuten is redefining how service providers design and deploy networks of the future.

Rakuten’s interest in the Open RAN fronthaul gateway solution emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chains were greatly affected and the company’s rollouts were impacted by low supplies of conventional Radio Interface Units (RIUs). Rakuten’s relationship with DZS has yielded measurable results, as Rakuten has been able to match or even exceed their competitors’ upload and download speeds, providing better video streaming, gaming, and voice application experiences to subscribers.

Integrating the C1216RO into the Rakuten network supported the company’s aggressive rollout plan. Cell site deployment became repeatable regardless of location, density, base station type, and band plans. Rakuten was able to quickly and efficiently expand its reach to support millions of subscribers and allow more room for expansion at no cost to the quality of its service. Rakuten essentially became the front-haul gateway’s testing ground, deriving favourable results for the innovative mobile carrier in Japan.

https://asianbusinessreview.com/...sian-telecom-awards-rakuten-mobile
 

Small cells play big role in German Open RAN network

March 15, 2022

O2 / Telefónica has activated the first small cells with innovative Open RAN technology (ORAN) in Munich.

The operator recently made big news about the launch of its first Open RAN, small-cell-based 4G service in downtown Munich with partners NEC Corporation, Airspan Networks and Rakuten Symphony.

The service launch is part of a larger strategy that Telefónica announced in September 2021. Trials of multi-vendor-based Open RAN solutions with the Telefónica group’s operating companies will take place in four global markets (Spain, Germany, UK, and Brazil), with plans to scale to a total of at least 800 sites for commercial use starting in 2022. Telefónica has a goal of reaching 30-50% radio network growth based on Open RAN by 2025.

Rakuten Symphony’s Open vRAN software was already part of Telefónica’s wider Open RAN program for its macro cells. Now, separate from the macro cell network, it is also providing the key software and management system for operating the downtown Munich 4G small cells with the small cell hardware and software provided by Airspan, which includes its unique AirSpeed plug-and-play solution for easy deployment, including radio, integrated antenna, electronics and GPS all in one box.

And one more thing: open interfaces provide visibility into the network allowing access to performance and other data that Telefónica can use to better manage the network. This includes performance of and between component parts.

Telefónica has cracked the code of how an operator with a brownfield network can expand it to accommodate new services in urban areas. While everyday mobile device users will benefit from the network, the press release makes it clear that Telefónica has an eye toward a new and improved customer experience for 5G services.

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...-role-in-german-open-ran-network  

Vodafone: 30% of our European network will run on Open RAN by 2030

At Mobile World Congress 2022, Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone presented their vision and plan going forward in the 'Evolving the Network for the Future' session. On his LinkedIn post, he said:

I have just presented at Mobile World Congress #MWC22 and was delighted to announce that around 30% of our European network will run on #OpenRAN by 2030, following the first site going live in the UK last month. This will give us more flexibility and speed in how we operate.

It is also an example of how innovation is coming back to the network.

Disruptive technologies such as Open RAN, Network as a Platform and Multi-Access Edge Computing are perfect illustrations of how we are meeting demand for fast connectivity, as well as driving supply chain diversity, creating digital eco-systems, and inventing new industrial-strength applications.

Around 30,000 sites across Europe will eventually use OpenRAN, with rural areas the first to benefit from the new 4G and 5G masts. When the roll-out reaches cities, the equipment from any existing 5G masts being replaced will then be reused elsewhere to reduce unnecessary wastage.

https://www.operatorwatch.com/2022/03/...ep-pushing-for-open-ran.html  

Cherry blossom season: Rakuten Mobile recommended spots

15 hours ago

he season is officially here! As winter draws to a close and the days begin to warm up, many in Japan find themselves seeking a spot to stroll or spread a picnic rug under ethereal clouds of fragile pale pink cherry blossoms. The annual “Sakura” spectacle lasts less than two weeks in most regions, and some enthusiasts find themselves hitting the road in search of scenic spots to enjoy the ephemeral flowers.

Meanwhile, the folks at Rakuten Mobile have been busy expanding their cellular network to connect more subscribers from all around Japan. To celebrate the coming of spring, the team listed up a few celebrated spots to recommend for your 2022 viewing enjoyment.

https://rakuten.today/blog/...n-rakuten-mobile-recommended-spots.html  

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/news/media/2022/...edia_20220328_01  

None of Open RAN is any less secure than proprietary programs

Democracies Need Open Networks to Counter China’s 5G Big Brother

By Weifeng Zhong

Tuesday, March 22, 2022, 2:30 PM

The Promise of Openness

RAN is the part of the wireless infrastructure—consisting of antennas, base stations and much more—that connects consumer devices such as mobile phones and smartwatches to the optical fiber internet. Conventional telecom gear-makers such as Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia offer full-stack RAN equipment where the software is proprietary and the hardware parts are not interoperable (imagine having to light a Marlboro cigarette with a Marlboro lighter). Once a wireless carrier purchases certain gear, the relationship is locked in for at least several years. Huawei’s competitively priced equipment has done very well on that front, boosting its share of the global telecom equipment market to more than 30 percent at its height.

Open RAN aims to revolutionize 5G and future-generations software with open architecture and community-developed standards, which would enable hardware parts, now uncoupled from the software, to be made interchangeably by any manufacturer in any nation. So while the United States doesn’t make full-stack 5G equipment, there are domestic companies that can make at least some parts, and the United States remains the envy of the world in software development.

Besides bringing more competition to the hardware market, Open RAN’s software ecosystem has the potential to be more secure than proprietary systems from attacks from China’s Huawei, ZTE and beyond. Proponents of proprietary software often argue that an open system would expose its vulnerabilities and attract attackers, but that’s a repeatedly recycled myth. When a community of developers collaborates transparently on building a system, more sets of eyes will be watching for bugs and fixing them promptly. Malware like what was in Huawei’s software update in 2012 would be known by more than the intelligence community, and it would not be kept under wraps for 10 long years.

The debate about the security of Open RAN echoes the one about the security of open-source software development, where the source code is completely transparent. The community had debated about its security compared to traditional, proprietary software for years, but the evidence has spoken for itself. Some of the most popular software programs today are open-source, such as the operating system Linux, the programming language Python and the web browser Mozilla Firefox. None of them is any less secure than proprietary programs.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/...networks-counter-chinas-5g-big-brother



 

Georgia: Viber opens Tbilisi office for mobile application development

In Georgia, the Economy Ministry announced on Monday, March 28, that Japanese electronic commerce and online retailing giant, Rakuten, will establish a Tbilisi-based office to develop mobile applications for its Viber messaging product.

Moreover, among other areas, the Tbilisi operations team of Rakuten Viber will work to develop and refine software compatible with iOS and Android devices, as well as increase their quality.

“In Georgia, Viber has a significant user base, with 1.7 million active monthly users out of a total population of 3.7 million. Viber plans to expand its community of users in Georgia and create new jobs in the region by establishing a presence in the country,” the company stated.

https://georgiaonline.ge/news/45144/...obile-application-development/  

In this episode we are joined by Mike Nguyen, Global Partnerships Planner at Rakuten, to explore the rapidly growing world of Japanese ecommerce.

https://exporttojapan.co.uk/09-ecommerce-in-japan-with-mike-nguyen/

 

Date: 31st March, 2022 - 31st March, 2023

Marking this exciting new chapter in trading relations between the UK and Japan, Export to Japan, working in partnership with the Department for International Trade, is delighted to announce the ‘Export to Japan Rakuten Store’.

This is the first programme of its kind, which will help UK exporters sell on Rakuten, one of Japan’s largest e-commerce platforms, from late March 2022.

For the platform launch campaign, Export to Japan is looking to partner with high quality UK companies in the fashion sector.

The UK is well regarded in Japan for its world leading fashion brands, and this programme is a fantastic opportunity for UK fashion companies to enter the Japanese market.

Successful companies will receive tailored, hands-on support to get their products on Rakuten, as well as help with localisation and product marketing.

About Rakuten

Rakuten is one of Japan’s largest companies, and its online marketplace has a over a quarter of the market share of e-commerce sales in Japan.

Sales on the platform in 2019 amounted to £29 bn, and the platform has seen considerable growth in in 2020 and 2021. Check out the Export to Japan Podcast episode with Mike Nguyen from Rakuten to learn more.

https://exporttojapan.co.uk/...-of-the-export-to-japan-rakuten-store/  

Nokia and Rakuten Mobile prove case for 1 Terabit per channel transmission in live network

Nokia and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. announced that the two companies have demonstrated the first live 1 Tb/s per channel transmission over Rakuten Mobile’s commercial Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexer (DWDM) network, a speed increase of 500% on Rakuten Mobile’s existing network running at 200 Gb/s. The trial took place over two days in January 2022 and connected data centers located 135 km apart in the Kanto region in Japan.

John Lancaster-Lennox, Head of Market Unit Japan, Nokia, said: “The 1 Terabit per channel trial demonstrated the capability to dramatically increase fiber capacity and future-proof the Rakuten Mobile network infrastructure to support new high speed data center interconnection.”

Rakuten Mobile is scaling up its network capacity to enable 5G connectivity, video, and new applications for its mobile subscribers and business partners.

Nokia’s 1 Tb/s solution enables Rakuten Mobile to reduce its footprint, improving operational expenditure and flexibility to rollout in data centers.

Tareq Amin, Representative Director and CEO of Rakuten Mobile, Inc., said: “We are delighted with the performance of 1 Tb/s per channel on our optical network in collaboration with Nokia. This technical milestone will allow us to maximize bits per fiber and achieve improved power efficiency. The enhanced capacity will also support our traffic growth, deliver higher bandwidth and enable Rakuten Mobile to provide new service offerings.”

https://www.globalbrandsmagazine.com/...transmission-in-live-network/  

Nokia pushes fibre speed to 1Tbps per channel for Rakuten

Alan Burkitt-Gray

March 30, 2022 11:14 AM

The trial took place over two days in January 2022 and connected two data centres 135km apart in the Kantō region in Japan – the area around Tokyo.

The transmission was over Rakuten Mobile’s existing commercial dense wavelength division multiplexer (DWDM) network, a speed increase of 500% on Rakuten Mobile’s existing network running at 200Gbps.

John Lancaster-Lennox, Nokia’s head of the Japan market unit, said: “The 1 terabit per channel trial demonstrated the capability to dramatically increase fibre capacity and future-proof the Rakuten Mobile network infrastructure to support new high speed data centre interconnection.”

Amin added: “The enhanced capacity will also support our traffic growth, deliver higher bandwidth and enable Rakuten Mobile to provide new service offerings.”

Nokia said the speed was achieved using coherent transmission powered by Nokia’s photonic service engine supporting 1Tbps capacity over a 150GHz optical spectrum.

The trial demonstrated the ability to deliver 32Tbps per fibre in C-band which can be expanded to 64Tbps by adding L-band over a Nokia DWDM line system used in Rakuten Mobile’s optical network. This is “vital to providing maximum capacity for the ever-increasing data demands and to support the latest generations of routers delivering 800Gbps Ethernet”, said Nokia.

This is timely, as Rakuten Mobile is scaling up its network capacity to enable 5G connectivity, video and new applications for its mobile subscribers and business partners. The 1Tbps upgrade will enable it “to reduce its footprint, improving operational expenditure and flexibility to rollout in data centres”, Nokia said.

https://www.capacitymedia.com/article/...tbps-per-channel-for-rakuten  

Ride-Hailing: Market 2022 Is Booming Worldwide | Easy Taxi, Lyft, Uber, Cabify

MARCH 23, 2022

Ride-Hailing market is showing steady growth and CAGR is expected to improve during the forecast period.

https://chatttennsports.com/187160/uncategorized/...ecast%2520period.




 

Rakuten Advertising x JanSport – Shortlisted for Digiday Content Marketing Award in Best Use of Data

By Rakuten Advertising | March 28, 2022 | NEWS

Advertising continues its streak of industry recognition for the hard work they put into generating innovative campaigns for our clients.

Rakuten Advertising is thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Digiday Content Marketing Award for Best Use of Data. These awards recognize the companies and campaigns using content to modernize media and marketing. We are honored to be shortlisted alongside Fenty Beauty, e.l.f., ViacomCBS and The Washington Post.

We are delighted to be nominated for this award in collaboration with longtime client JanSport for our Disorientation campaign. Making the shortlist for the Digiday Content Media Awards recognizes our team as an industry leader that can generate innovative results for our clients. The 2022 Digiday Content Marketing Award winners will be announced on May 5, 2022.

https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/news/...arketing-award-shortlist/  

The name is „Rakuten Fashion Week“ – not „Amazon Fashion Week“

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/...hion-week-aw-2022/index.html  

The Power of Context –How Streaming is Turning Viewers into Buyers

By Rakuten Advertising | March 30, 2022 | MARKETING STRATEGIES

services has never been more potent, as demonstrated by the latest global research by Rakuten Advertising into viewer behaviours. The reason for this optimism is two-fold:



Firstly, the research identified direct returns from advertising on CTV; the statistics show that viewers are purchasing searched-for items advertised on streaming services – an average of 72% globally.

Secondly, the percentage of viewers who prefer watching streaming services more than traditional platforms is averaging 41% across the globe.

This combination of scale plus impact makes CTV an essential component of media planning.

To take advantage of this media planners need to understand how to integrate CTV into wider media strategies and deliver a call to action that takes the brand from the TV and into the browser search bar.

https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/en-uk/...es/the-power-of-context/  

Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally on the heels of major surge in remote working. The Israeli startup is acquiring Azimo — the London-based money transfer business that Facebook once tried to buy to spearhead its own remittance efforts — a deal that will see Papaya Global moving into more markets, and launching more services such as instant payroll payments.

Terms of the acquisition are not officially being disclosed, but a source close to the companies tells me that the deal was between $150 million and $200 million, a figure others appear to have also reported. Papaya is acquiring the full business upon the deal closing, including all of Azimo’s employees, the company said.

For some context, Papaya Global — backed by companies like Insight Partners and Tiger Global — was valued at $3.7 billion in its last funding round in September 2021, after growing revenues 300% each year for the last three years.

Azimo, meanwhile, was backed by investors including Rakuten and Greycroft and competes with the likes of Wise (FKA TransferWise). Both companies were among a shortlist that Facebook tapped several years ago when it first started to weigh up a move into money transfer services (a service it now provides).

https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/28/...ayroll-payments-to-more-markets/  

Cloud-Radio Access Network (C-RAN) Market Growing at a CAGR 37.7%

Cloud-Radio Access Network (C-RAN) Market by Component (Solution and Services), Network Type, Deployment (Cloud and Centralized), End User (Telecom Operators and Enterprises), and Region – Global Forecast to 2025



The Cloud Radio Access Network market size is projected to grow from USD 2.9 billion in 2020 to USD 14.4 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 37.7% during the forecast period. C-RAN facilitates mobile communication by helping mobile operators deliver high-quality mobile communication services while maintaining steady growth and profitability. The deployment of C-RAN architectures is witnessed lately, owing to the increasing number of network subscribers and surging data transmission rates.

The key and emerging players include Nokia, Huawei, Ericsson, ZTE Corporation, NEC Corporation, Cisco, Samsung, Altiostar, Fujitsu, Intel, Mavenir, ASOCS, Radisys, CommScope, Artiza Networks, Anritsu, 6WIND, EXFO, Airspan, VIAVI, Infinera, Texas Instruments, Amphenol, Xilinx, Dali Wireless, and Casa Systems. These players have adopted various strategies to grow in the global C-RAN market.

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/22/03/...kia-huawei-ericsson-z  

Global Movies and TV Shows OTT Market 2022 Development Plans

The ruling players of Movies and TV Shows OTT market is:

· Amazon Web Services (AWS)

· Netflix

· Hulu, LLC

· Google LLC

· Apple Inc.

· Facebook

· Telestra

· Rakuten Inc.

· Microsoft Corporation

· Tencent Holdings

https://www.businessmerseyside.co.uk/...ervices-aws-netflix-hulu-llc/  

30. märz Rakuten Securities eröffnet 2021 die größte Anzahl neuer Konten in der Branche!
- Anzahl der neu eröffneten Konten ist im vierten Jahr in Folge die Nr. 1 in der Branche

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/company/...se/pdf/press20220330.pdf
 

Wie Werbetreibende im Finanzdienstleistungsbereich die Leistung ihrer Affiliate-Partner in Bezug auf die wichtigsten Metriken optimieren können

Von Rakuten Advertising | 17 February 2022 | MARKETING STRATEGIES

https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/de-de/...e-affiliate-performance/  

Successful deployment of O-RAN depends on partnerships and collaboration

The event had a number of showcases around O-RAN. For example, Qualcomm showcased its X100 Accelerator for urban, high-traffic O-RAN deployments using mMIMO radios. Rakuten Symphony’s Symworld highlighted its ecosystem partnerships, which indicate that O-RAN deployment cannot be a one-person show. The successful deployment of O-RAN depends on partnerships and collaboration with other value chain players and systems integrators, especially to overcome scalability challenges.

https://iotbusinessnews.com/2022/03/30/...iscussed-technology-topics/  
 

„Ein Beispiel, das von Omdia hervorgehoben wird, ist Rakuten Symphony. Rakuten Symphony plant, einen digitalen Marktplatz für Webdienste und -lösungen bereitzustellen, der Lösungen von Drittanbietern abdeckt. Dies ist besonders bemerkenswert, wenn es seinen Fokus von Netzbetreibern auf Unternehmen verlagert, die nach privaten Netzwerklösungen suchen. Rakuten Symphony kann die Erfahrung und Technologie der Consumer-Commerce-Plattform der rakuten Group eindeutig nutzen, um seine eigene Online-Marktplatzplattform zu unterstützen.“

https://lmtw.com/mzw/content/detail/id/212697