Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

von Alexander Krei

am 11.05.2022 - 15:35 Uhr

Mit seinem Geschäftsmodell FAST, also Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, konkurriert Rakuten TV mit Anbietern wie Pluto TV oder Samsung TV Plus. Nun holt die Video-on-Demand-Plattform ihre linearen werbefinanzierten Kanäle auch ins Web und aufs Smartphone. Durch die Ausweitung der unterstützten Geräte erhöhe Rakuten TV die Reichweite der Plattform sowohl für das Publikum als auch für Werbetreibende.

https://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/87842/...;utm_campaign=&utm_term=  

Saf Malik
May 19, 2022 10:43 AM

Earlier this year, the carrier told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it will incorporate Open RAN compliant equipment into its network within the next year.

It isn’t surprising that AT&T will be deploying Open RAN equipment in its private networks using small cells according to Minchul Ho, general manager of America at Baicells - a wireless solutions provider.
“AT&T will be able to sell Open RAN solutions to enterprises and give them more choice over how private networks are built, as the technology enables interoperability between different products and vendors,” he says.

“This is an important stepping-stone for AT&T as it looks to roll out Open RAN across its entire network.”

https://www.capacitymedia.com/article/...t-reveals-open-ran-poc-tests

 

Baillie Gifford Japan Trust aims to deliver long-term growth by investing in high-quality Japanese companies which hold competitive positions in their industries.

The managers prefer to think and invest over decades. They believe investing in exceptional companies, who are capable of above average earnings growth over time is key to long-term success. This means they tend to hold companies longer than the market average – almost a third of the trust's investments have been held for over ten years, and almost another third have been held for between five and ten years.

The managers also view the trust’s investments across four categories - secular growth, growth stalwarts, special situations and cyclical growth.

Secular growth businesses are those the managers see as having the greatest potential opportunity for growth, but they're also considered riskier investments. This category currently makes up around 43% of the trust including long-standing companies like internet service provider GMO Internet and online retailer Rakuten.

https://www.hl.co.uk/news/articles/...japan-trust-plc-may-2022-update  

Everybody sees the living evidence of our technology - without Mr. Morris from Lightreading

"Now, everybody sees the living evidence of our technology, which is the Rakuten Mobile service in Japan. And according to independent third-party research companies, our quality stats are pretty good, so there’s no argument about it. I think we have to prove that we can deploy with the same kind of success to other companies. We have to ensure that 1&1 AG is successful, as well as our other projects, and make sure that everybody feels comfortable with us as their partner."

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...-telecom-industry-transformation  

meine Strategie.  

Deutschland-Chefin von Microsoft: Metaverse wird Industrie erobern
30.05.2022 Quelle: dpa

Bisher beschäftigt das Thema Metaverse vor allem die Games-Branche, auch Facebook-Chef Mark Zuckerberg setzt auf die virtuelle Parallelwelt und hat seinen Konzern entsprechend in Meta umbenannt. Geht es nach Microsoft, soll das Metaverse aber auch die industrielle Produktion umkrempeln.

Sehr viele Unternehmen mussten sich demnach auch mit Verfahren auseinandersetzen, bei dem bestimmte Szenarien virtuell durchgegangen werden, bevor sie in der Produktion oder der Entwicklung von Produkten in die Realität umgesetzt werden. „Das ist quasi das industrielle Metaverse.“

Janik betonte, in einem industriellen Metaverse könne man Dinge vollbringen, die man früher mit einem deutlich höheren Aufwand physisch gemacht habe. „Man kann beispielsweise auch vorab feststellen, wie man in der Produktion bestimmte Komponenten ersetzen kann, die in diesen Zeiten nicht verfügbar sind.“

https://www.elektronikpraxis.vogel.de/...d04bda98147d1de0dd985019753b  

https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20220531-2355401/
 

Taiwan Rakuten Card and Tigerair Taiwan Partner to Launch Co-branded Credit Cards

Tokyo, May 31, 2022 - Rakuten Card Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Inc., today announced that its subsidiary Taiwan Rakuten Card, Inc. will partner with Tigerair Taiwan to release the airline's first ever co-branded credit card.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/update/2022/0531_01.html
 

5G Services Market with CAGR of 55% from 2022 to 2032
May 31, 2022

As per the analysis, the global 5G services market is expected to secure a market value of US$ 3,827.64 Bn by 2032 while expanding at a CAGR of 55% from 2022 to 2032. The 5G service is estimated to hold a market value of USD 58 Bn by 2022. The rapid development in virtualization in the networking domain is expected to be the key factor propelling the market in the forecast period.

Prominent Key players of the 5G services market survey report:

Saudi Telecom Company

Rakuten Mobile Inc.

BT Group plc

Deutsche Telekom AG

China Mobile Ltd.

AT&T, Inc.

KT Corp.

Verizon Communications, Inc.

Bharti Airtel Ltd.

China Telecom Corporation Ltd.

Vodafone Group

NTT Docomo

SK Telecom Co., Ltd.

T-Mobile USA, Inc.

https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/...umption-during-2022-2031-fact-mr  

SHOPBACK, THE LEADING CASHBACK PLATFORM IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

7 April 2022

The Singaporean platform Shopback allows users to consume while saving money*. The future unicorn popularized the concept of* cashback in Southeast Asia. More than half a billion purchases start with ShopBack every year. In addition to cashback, the app relies on user engagement mechanisms such as community building and mobile video games.

Shopback is a cashback platform founded in 2014 in Singapore and present in 9 markets in the Asia-Pacific region. She earns a commission for each purchase made via Shopback on partner platforms, and this amount is returned to customers in the form of cashback. More than 10,000 e-commerce platforms are Shopback partners, including Alibaba, Amazon, Lazada and Shopee.

The platform has grown by leaps and bounds. Shopback already has 30 million customers across its 9 markets, and has distributed over $100 million in cashback. The startup generates more than $3.5 billion in annual sales and is poised to raise $150 million, with a valuation of $1 billion, which would propel it to unicorn status in Southeast Asia.

Shopback recently acquired startup Hollah from BNPL, to offer its customers the ability to “buy now and pay later”.

https://www.echangeur.fr/en/inspiration/...opBack%2520every%2520year.  

weiter verbilligt, weil die Fundamentals überzeugend sind.  

CapitaLand partners with ShopBack and launches subscription service for retailers

By Shawn Lim - March 31, 2022

Singapore-based CapitaLand has formed a partnership with cashback app ShopBack that will see CapitaLand bring retail tenants at its malls on to the e-commerce rewards platform, helping them drive up in-store spending.

Tenants will also be able to access ShopBack’s customer database and be part of both parties’ omnichannel marketing campaigns.

ShopBack users will be able to earn instant CapitaStar rewards when they shop at CapitaLand properties, on top of existing ShopBack cashback rewards.

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/03/31/...cription-service-retailers  

Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII: An evolution of Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI

Applications for new contracts for the plan open on July 1, 2022 offering 3,000 Rakuten Points and a maximum of up to 6x Rakuten Points for purchases on Rakuten Ichiba

Applications for new contracts for the plan open on July 1, 2022. To coincide with the announcement of the plan, campaigns will be held offering 3,000 Rakuten Points and a maximum of up to 6x Rakuten Points for purchases on Rakuten Ichiba.

As with Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI, Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII features a fee structure that flexibly adjusts with data use. For monthly data use of up to 3GB, the fee will be 980 yen (1,078 yen inc. tax), for 3GB to up to 20GB, the fee will be 1,980 yen (2,178 yen inc. tax) and for over 20GB, subscribers can use unlimited data*1 for 2,980 yen (3,278 yen inc. tax). Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII also offers a monthly allocation of 5GB of high-speed data in the domestic roaming partner network areas.

Current subscribers of Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI will be automatically switched to Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII on July 1, 2022. Until the end of October, for a maximum of four months, a campaign will offer essentially free monthly fees on a monthly basis to Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII subscribers who use 1GB or less of data per month.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2022/...mp;category=mobile  

Und das Marketing von Rakuten Mobile ist "heavy on wire":

https://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/2206/01/news101.html  

Airspan Networks Named Winner of Three Small Cell Forum Innovation Awards

June 1, 2022

Deployment of Open RAN and Small Cells

Rakuten Mobile has demonstrated an open and virtualized RAN network can be deployed at scale, integrating macro cell sites and small cells to improve coverage in hard-to-reach outdoor areas, to boost capacity in hot spots and to provide indoor coverage as well. The Rakuten Mobile network utilizes Airspan’s 4G and 5G small cells and radios specifically optimized for Rakuten Mobile’s unique open and virtualized RAN requirements to provide coverage and capacity in multiple dense urban areas in Japan.

“Small cells play a key role in our network, expanding coverage and capacity and improving densification,” said Sharad Sriwastawa, CTO, Rakuten Mobile, Inc. “Working with Airspan, Rakuten Mobile is able to deploy thousands of cells in a matter of minutes instead of hours or days. This ability to accelerate deployments through plug & play technology is a key differentiator of the Rakuten Mobile network.”

https://readmagazine.com/industries/iot/...l-forum-innovation-awards/  

Rakuten is an important client and an important owner of AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile gets OK from FCC to test sat-to-phone tech with AT&T in U.S.

1st June 2022

AST SpaceMobile—a LEO satellite company that plans to deliver broadband cellular service directly to unmodified wireless devices—has received an experimental license from the FCC to conduct tests this year in preparation for launches that are expected to result in continuous global coverage by the end of 2025, a company official said.

Scott Wisniewski, chief strategy officer and executive vice president for AST SpaceMobile, said the FCC experimental license will let the low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite startup test its 693-square-foot BlueWalker 3 satellite (pictured above) for about six months in parts of Texas and Hawaii. AST SpaceMobile also has secured similar regulatory approval in Kenya and is seeking permissions to conduct testing in other countries, he said.

AST SpaceMobile plans to provide MIMO support via 170 satellites by the end of 2025, Wisniewski said.

Unlike other higher-profile LEO satellite companies—for example, Starlink or OneWeb—AST SpaceMobile does not require users to deploy special satellite receivers to communicate. Instead, AST SpaceMobile satellites can connect directly with unmodified smart devices, acting as a cell-phone tower about 300 miles above the earth’s surface.

“The phone sees it [the AST SpaceMobile satellite] as another tower,” Wisniewski said, noting that AST SpaceMobile plans to serve as a complementary roaming partner to cellular carriers, with the idea of ensuring that customers maintain connectivity at all times.

https://urgentcomm.com/2022/06/01/...t-to-phone-tech-with-att-in-u-s/  

Flying the nest

Melanie Mingas May 04, 2022 07:13 PM

Brooke Frischemeier, head of product management at Robin.io, talks to Melanie Mingas about Kubernetes and simplifying the cloud – but definitely nothing about the new parent company
Rakuten Mobile is no stranger to an acquisition having snapped up Estmob, Altiostar, Innoeye and others in the last two years.

But in February its sister company moved in on US-based cloud technology company Robin.io – the partner that helped Rakuten Mobile to deploy the world’s first end-to-end fully virtualised cloud-native mobile network.

Rakuten Symphony itself was only established in mid-2021 with a remit to “spearhead the global adoption of cloud-native open RAN infrastructure and services”, but its move to acquire Robin.io turned the tables on the usual customer-vendor dynamic. Further, Rakuten said it wanted to “accelerate and strengthen the complete end-to-end automated cloud offering for customers across the globe”.

Rakuten was not just after Robin.io’s petabyte size deployments – it also got its 70 patents and appointed CEO, Partha Seetala, as president of Symphony’s new Unified Cloud business. All for an undisclosed sum.

“I can’t talk about the deal until it’s 100% closed,” says Brooke Frischemeier, Robin.io’s head of product management, from his guitar-lined office on North Carolina. At this point even the details of when the deal is due to close remain under wraps, but it is clear from Frischemeier’s product pitch that Rakuten saw industry-changing potential in what this Robin does in the cloud.

“There are three main things we do: cloud native storage, the Robin Cloud Native Platform and MDCAP – the multi-data centre automation platform,” Frischemeier explains.

https://www.capacitymedia.com/article/...ig-interview/flying-the-nest
 

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/bond/jbond/...mobile/new_issue.html

Kurzläufer über 3 Jahre - denn ich gehe davon aus, dass vielleicht schon im vierten Quartal 2022 der  operative Cash Flow positiv ist und zumindest einen Teil der Investitionen decken kann - und irgendwann in 2023 wird es nach meiner Einschätzung so sein, dass der operative Cash Flow die Investitionen komplett deckt.
 

Behauptungen, dass Rakuten seine Investionen nichf finanzieren könne, sind angesichts der Bonitätseinschätzungen, die zu einem Zins von 0,72% geführt haben, lächerlich.  

Published by L. Kettenhofen, May 30, 2022

As of March 2022, the total assets of Rakuten Bank, Ltd. amounted to around 9.49 trillion Japanese yen. Compared to the previous year, the bank's total assets increased by 46.3 percent. Rakuten Bank, Ltd. is a Japanese online bank that is part of the Rakuten Group.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1309989/rakuten-bank-total-assets/  

S’pore cashback startup ShopBack makes foray into payments space with recent ShopBack Pay launch

Zafirah Salim

April 25, 2022

Homegrown cashback rewards platform ShopBack recently marked its first foray into the payments space with its latest ShopBack Pay feature.

It’s essentially a QR scan-and-pay feature that enables ShopBack users to not only enjoy cashback online, but also offline at merchants with physical stores.

With ShopBack Pay, consumers can now link their favourite payment methods and easily make in-store purchases, as well as stack additional cashback on top of rewards from their selected payment method.

https://vulcanpost.com/786135/...-enters-payments-space-shopback-pay/  

Rakuten: ‘This is the most important industry and it shouldn’t be left to chance“

Andrew WoodenWritten by Andrew Wooden 6 days ago

Could you give us a quick update on Rakuten Mobile, what’s the last year been like?

For the Rakuten Group we’ve validated that the network, which has been built the modern cloud native software defined way, has equivalent or better quality than traditional build, so there is no reason now to believe that this technology doesn’t work at scale. And with high density deployments, Tokyo is one of the densest cities in the world, in terms of requirements.

We have 270,000 different cells in the network, and we have nine radio vendors on that. There’s only 250 operational people, these are people that touch the network to reconfigure it or to solve problems, and we are going to hold that at 250. So Tareq (Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Mobile) has got a hiring freeze on just to force the fact that we aren’t going to end up in a place where humans just add without knowing.

The core business of Rakuten is actually rewards, loyalty and points. That’s what connects at the heart. That’s a data science discipline. And the fact that now we have a data driven operation of the connectivity layer can become useful and available to inform and instruct value inside the broader ecosystem of properties. So beyond our 67% revenue growth, 35% of people shopped at Rakuten shopping, or Ichiba as it’s known, 20% of people applied for credit card for the first time and 10% of people applied to Rakuten Bank for the first time, and 12% started using Rakuten pay the first time.

So we want to show this highly efficient programmable network can start to play an enabling role inside the broader online ecosystem. And we can start to show the economics and the traffic management and value flow above the connectivity. Now for operators outside of Japan that don’t have an ecosystem, we are still speaking according to those findings. Because we can share the rewards and loyalty point systems, which is the core business that’s transposable anywhere.

The important message to all other operators is that there is opportunity to contribute to an ecosystem of connectivity. But you need to have a modern, responsive programmable network and be able to safely and from a privacy way use that data to participate in the ecosystem. So that’s the next year’s journey, to actually build and prove that story.

https://telecoms.com/515599/...try-and-it-shouldnt-be-left-to-chance/  

Central participants and improving sellers in the worldwide global cell 5G network market incorporate Ericsson (Sweden), Huawei (China), ZTE (China), Cisco (US), NEC (Japan), Nokia (Finland), CommScope (US), Airspan Networks (US), ip.access (UK), Corning (US), Fujitsu (Japan), Samsung (South Korea), Comba Telecom (Hong Kong), Contela (South Korea), Baicells Technologies (US), Acceleran (Belgium), Accuver (US), Casa Systems (US), CommAgility (England), Radisys (US), Altiostar (US), Siradel (France), Qualcomm (US), Octasic (Canada), PC-TEL (US), and Microsemi (US).

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/...cisco-us-nec-japan#ixzz7VKHMdw53  

At the bilateral talks with Japan held on the sidelines of WSIS forum 2022, Shri Devusinh Chauhan urged the Japanese Companies to be part of initiatives of India in telecom sector. Japanese delegation at WSIS 2022 is led by H.E. SASAKI Yuji, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination (International Affairs), MIC.

Shri Devusinh Chauhan said that India is one of the largest telecom networks in the world with one of the most affordable telecom services. Last year Government of India announced path breaking reforms in telecom sector to further boost the growth of telecom industry, promote healthy competition and enhance the penetration of broadband and telecom connectivity. These reforms will usher a new era for the sector and will encourage investment by the industry.

In view of the young engineering talent available in India, the Minister urged Japanese industry to consider establishing their R&D centres in India. This can start with small developments and scaled up to full development centre to cater to global requirements of the parent companies. We have also announced a new Semiconductor Policy. Under this we invite Japanese companies to partner with us. We are also looking to train 85,000 engineers in the field of semiconductor technology. Japan can be India's Knowledge Partner for this purpose.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/technology/...e-devusinh-chauhan  

Rakuten is the only operator which has “taken its own medicine” first with the launch of the Rakuten Mobile network in Japan

What aspect of the telco space excites you? Are there any industry trends you find particularly interesting?

In a way, it’s the scariest industry to be in. Blink and something has changed in the technology vendor or competitive ecosystem. Unfortunately, many legacy telco players aren’t able to keep up with this change. The mindset for how to utilize technology today is the same as 20 years ago.

I am excited because this muscle memory is being completely disrupted by the software paradigm. What Symphony is trying to do is unshackle operators from various cost structures that come with building and then running a network. Once these companies start realizing the benefits this gives in terms of flexibility, speed to market and departure from traditional cost and procurement cycles, the brainpower and the innovative energy that will then be freed-up in their organizations can then be applied to actual value-added services and enhancing customer experience. This is more than a technology change; this is a mindset change.

What’s most impressive for me is that Rakuten is the only operator which has “taken its own medicine” first with the launch of the Rakuten Mobile network in Japan. I do not know of any current competitor willing to do that.

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...a-conversation-with-vivek-chadha