Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

 

JUNE 30, 2021 13.03 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Free movie streaming and social platform Filzmie is launching as a channel on Rakuten TV in the UK.
It has previously been available as a streaming channel in the UK in Europe. The channel will be automatically available within the Rakuten TV app.

Matej Boda, CEO of Filzmie said: “Launching as linear channel on Rakuten TV follows the strong success we have had in building an engaged audience of film and TV lovers on our streaming platform. The integration is a further sign of our sustained growth in the UK market, and means we can offer even more people a way to watch great films for free.”

Additional territories and platforms, with localised catalogues will be announced throughout the year.
Filzmie curates a collection of 1,000 titles of iconic and new works.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2021/06/30/...-channel-on-rakuten-tv/
 

Myth #4: Open RAN isn’t easy to integrate

Hardware and software solutions from multiple vendors isn’t plug-and-play.

Proprietary solutions are easier to integrate.

It is hard for small operators to work with solutions from multiple vendors.

While integration might seem like a challenge for Open RAN, it’s not unique to Open RAN. Whether you are building a legacy network or an Open RAN network, there are always integration challenges. The difference is that they are more visible to the operator with Open RAN, rather than being contained deep inside a vendor organization. This may also call for something of a cultural shift within operator organizations, to become more tech-savvy as the focus shifts toward software-based solutions. This is something that is already happening across multiple industries with telco still struggling to catch up.
Fortunately, there are tools available to help minimize the challenges of Open RAN integration, such as the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). With RCP, Rakuten Mobile has done the hard work with the support of its global hardware and software partners to create a platform that makes it quicker and less expensive to deploy virtualized networks. By choosing from a range of hardware and software options to suit their needs, mobile operators will better control their own destiny, as well as their ability to pass on enriched services and cost savings to customers.

Simply put, integration challenges are not unique to Open RAN architectures and impose no more burdens or costs on mobile network operators than those incurred in connection with the deployment of legacy networks and technologies.

https://rakuten.today/blog/mythbusting-open-ran.html
 

12 hours ago

Millions of Rakuten Viber users will soon have a new reason to smile. For the camera, that is.

Rakuten Viber has added the magic of augmented reality (AR) lenses to its app through a partnership with Snap Inc. Using Snap’s developer tools — including Camera Kit, Creative Kit and Bitmoji — the Viber app will integrate AR lenses, enable sharing to Snapchat and bring customizable Bitmoji avatars to Viber.

For Viber users around the world, that means a whole lot of fun new ways to communicate with friends, family and community members.

https://rakuten.today/blog/snap-ar-lenses-come-to-rakuten-viber.html  

PREMIUM
Interview von Nele Husmann
01. Juli 2021

OpenRan ist ein offener Standard, der den Einsatz von massengefertigter Hardware in den Netzen möglich macht. Für klassische Ausstatter wie Huawei ist das heftige Konkurrenz. Wer kann sich behaupten?

https://www.wiwo.de/my/unternehmen/it/...747-zDZeAIFl7lWch0Nk6Wn3-ap6
 

und begnüge mich mit der Überschrift, da ich mit Tests des Handelsblattes und der Wirtschaftswoche schon sehr negative Erfahrungen gesammelt habe.

Trotz rechtzeitiger Kündigungen von Probebezügen, wurden mir sowohl bei der Wirtschaftswoche als auch beim Handelsblatt die Zeitungen weiter geliefert, teilweise sogar an zwei Wohnsitze, und Rechnungen verschickt - und zwar in einem Fall mit einem halben Jahr Verzug nach  der Lieferung, was ich als dreiste Frechheit ansehe und eine Betrugsanzeige erwäge.  

June 24, 2021

WildEarth has agreed a deal with Rakuten TV to make its content available in 40 territories in Europe and in Japan.

WildEarth will further extend its coverage by being available on the VoD and streaming platform which is accessible on Smart TV devices from Samsung and LG.

Initial rollout of WildEarth on Rakuten TV is in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics where viewers will be able to experience the magic of being immersed into a live safari and connect with nature.

“WildEarth is super proud to be launching as a channel on Rakuten TV. We are excited to immerse viewers in this special nature experience which has proven to have a beneficial effect on our well-being” commented Graham Wallington, CEO and Co-Founder of WildEarth.

https://advanced-television.com/2021/06/24/...launches-on-rakuten-tv/
 

Rakuten Mobile’s container-based solution is seeing results. This approach will deliver up to 40% reduction in capital expenditure (CAPEX) and up to 30% reduction in operating expenses (OPEX) compared to traditional 5G deployment. These savings are achieved by running 5G RAN functions as microservices in containers using cloud native technologies running on COTS hardware, reducing the cost of building, operating and maintaining 5G networks. It also enables the end-to-end management, orchestration and life-cycle management of 5G RAN, 5G Core and transport and cloud infrastructure and is driving new industry-wide innovations in the area of 5G RAN.

https://rakuten.today/blog/rakuten-mobile-glomo-awards.html
 

read://https_www.gsma.com/...elease%2Fgsma-reveals-winners-of-2021-glomo-awards%2F
 

Telco Bits & Bytes Live! Paving the path to a fully open RAN

Date: July 1, 2021, 11:30 am ET

In the week of MWC Barcelona 2021, Intel, Altiostar and VMware demonstrate real-world multi-layer automation and lifecycle management of an Open vRAN deployment.

In this third in the series of Bits and Bytes Live! conversations on RAN, we’ll be discussing how customer engagement drove the partnership between Altiostar, Intel and VMware, why vRAN is such a hot topic for CSPs and how Open RAN deployments may be happening faster than you think.
Speakers include:

– Francis Chow, VP, Operations, Business Development and Strategy, VMware
– Anil Bhandari, VP Product Management, Altiostar
– Cristina Rodriguez, VP in the Data Center Group and General Manager of the Wireless Access Network Division, Intel

https://www.altiostar.com/...ive-paving-the-path-to-a-fully-open-ran/

 

Rakuten Mobile Shows High-Speed Processing in 5G Core Trial with NEC and Intel

danielkuhn1 day ago

“Using NEC and Intel, we have demonstrated that containers can be processed at very high speeds. Rakuten Mobile CTO Tareq Amin continues to pursue core performance improvements in its statement. We aim to improve throughput and reduce costs and energy consumption in deploying network technologies in Japan and around the world.

https://illinoisnewstoday.com/...ore-trial-with-nec-and-intel/278555/  

Trials and triumphs of the rising network | Accenture & Rakuten Mobile
02.07.2021

Accenture and Rakuten discuss the challenges and achievements of their collaboration on the world's first fully cloud-native mobile network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11tnz_EeBSg

Meine zusätzliche Empfehlung: Untertitel aktivieren, wenn man kein native english speaker ist
 

(Reuters) -Didi Global Inc shares ended their first day of U.S. trading slightly over their initial public offering (IPO) price, valuing the ride-hailing giant at $68.49 billion in the biggest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since 2014.

The stock market debut vindicated Didi's decision to moderate its valuation expectations, after investors raised concerns over the pace and profitability of its expansion in new services and foreign markets. Reuters reported in March that Didi was hoping the IPO could value it at as much as $100 billion.
SoftBank-backed Didi's stock opened at $16.65, significantly higher than its $14 IPO price. The shares slid in the early afternoon after reaching an $18 high.

https://www.nippon.com/en/news/reu20210701KCN2E620E/
 

Im Jahr 2020 wurden 306.376 neue Wohnungen fer tiggestellt, ein Plus von 4,6% ggü. Vorjahr. Dies ist der kräftigste Anstieg seit dem Jahr 2016.

Im Gegensatz dazu dürfte sich das Nachfragewachs tum im Jahr 2020 deutlich verlangsamt haben. Der Wanderungssaldo betrug nur 220.000 Personen. Folg lich stagnierte die Einwohnerzahl bei 83,2 Mio.

Die Angebotsknappheit hat sich im Jahr 2020 also ver ringert. Die beiden Lockdowns im Jahr 2021 dürften ebenfalls die Nettozuwanderung und die Angebots knappheit gedämpft haben.

Im Vergleich mit dem Zinsniveau von 5% im Jahr 2008 bleibt Wohneigentum erschwinglich.

Der Erschwinglichkeitsindex (2005=100) ist trotz stei gender Preise aufgrund der Zinsentwicklung auf rund 28 in Q1 2021 gefallen.

Erschwinglichkeit im Jahr 2021 sinkt wohl etwas (= stei gender Index) wegen höherer Hypothekenzinsen, schwacher Einkommensentwicklung und vermutlich weiter steigender Hauspreise.

https://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/RPS_DE-PROD/...A~KKGAWt4sk4nqk69YsJVyG
 

Carousell eyes deeper penetration in its existing regional markets

"While we are already operating in eight markets, we feel that there's still a lot more depth that we can go into," Carousell Singapore's managing director Ng Chee Soon told The Straits Times on Thursday (July 1).

He said Indonesia and Taiwan are growing markets for Carousell.

"In Hong Kong, we are beginning to see some traction and we hope to drive a lot more success there as well. In the Philippines, through M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity in the last two years or so, we also have a large base in which we see a lot of potential," added Mr Ng.

The company will also continue to hire in tech as well as software and product development roles, he added.
It currently employs about 250 people in Singapore and more than 700 staff in the region.

Mr Ng declined to comment when asked about recent reports that Carousell is exploring a United States listing via a merger with a blank-cheque company, a move that could value the company at as much as US$1.5 billion.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/...ts-existing-regional-markets  

July 2, 2021

Rakuten consecutively selected for FTSE4Good Index Series and FTSE Blossom Japan Index

Rakuten Group, Inc. (hereinafter “Rakuten”) is pleased to announce that, for the third consecutive year, it has been selected as a constituent for the FTSE4Good Index Series and FTSE Blossom Japan Index, the global leading ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) indices comprising companies demonstrating strong ESG practices. The rating of Rakuten’s sustainability performance by FTSE is above the average of the consumer services industry and above the average of Japanese companies.

In recent years, ESG investments that take into account not only financial performance such as revenues and profits, but also ESG factors, like climate change, diversity, human rights, have grown in importance globally. Rakuten has been proactively answering investors’ demand by addressing related challenges and communicating on its progress with transparency, in line with its mission to contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Our continuous efforts have resulted in the inclusion in the leading ESG indexes used as global references for ESG investment by many institutional investors worldwide, including Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund. Rakuten is currently selected for the followings: FTSE4Good Index Series, FTSE Blossom Japan Index, MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN), and MSCI Japan Empowering Women (WIN) Select Index, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index, and S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index.

FTSE4Good Index Series and FTSE Blossom Japan Index are provided by FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group creating and managing a wide range of indexes, data and analytic solutions.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2021/0702_02.html  

Rakuten Bank’s Total Deposit Balance Surpasses Six Trillion Yen

Tokyo, July 1, 2021 - Rakuten Bank, Ltd. today announced that its total balance of deposits (non-consolidated) has exceeded six trillion yen as of the end of June 2021.

Rakuten Bank became the first online bank in Japan to reach 10 million accounts in January 2021, and the number of Rakuten Bank accounts continues to grow steadily. In recent years, the company has strengthened collaborations across the Rakuten’s Group’s diverse portfolio of services, with initiatives such as the Super Point Up Program, which scales up the percentage of points earned on Rakuten Ichiba, and provision of the Money Bridge service, which connects Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities accounts. The number of Money Bridge-linked accounts surpassed two million in January 2021, and the number of customers using multiple Rakuten financial services has increased even more. With the pandemic keeping people indoors and necessitating new lifestyle choices, even more customers are turning to Rakuten Bank for its convenience as an entirely-online banking service — one that never requires a visit to a physical location.

Since December 2020, when Rakuten Bank’s total balance of deposits (non-consolidated) exceeded five trillion yen, the number of partners offering Rakuten Bank as an option for automatic money transfers has increased, and the company has launched an instant payment service from Rakuten Bank accounts on the Rakuten Pay app. By working to continuously improve existing services while also introducing new ones, Rakuten Bank was able to increase its deposit balance to six trillion yen in approximately six months.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/update/2021/0701_05.html
 

TBS: How instant messaging apps like Rakuten Viber generate revenue?

DA: We have found multiple creative ways to generate revenue, and it has been working great for us. Unlike numerous other platforms, Viber's vital income sources are not advertisements, but instead, its business messaging. Various companies globally pay monthly fees to us to send messages to their subscribers. Those companies need to be verified by Viber to send any messages. We also only get less than 20% income from advertisements. Viber will not collect any public data without the users' consent, and private messages are encrypted, so there is no way for anyone other than users to view the information.

https://www.tbsnews.net/feature/panorama/...ceo-djamel-agaoua-215602?

DA: We have found multiple creative ways to generate revenue, and it has been working great for us. Unlike numerous other platforms, Viber's vital income sources are not advertisements, but instead, its business messaging. Various companies globally pay monthly fees to us to send messages to their subscribers. Those companies need to be verified by Viber to send any messages. We also only get less than 20% income from advertisements. Viber will not collect any public data without the users' consent, and private messages are encrypted, so there is no way for anyone other than users to view the information.

https://www.tbsnews.net/feature/panorama/...-ceo-djamel-agaoua-215602  

Myth #5: Open RAN is more expensive

         •§Traditional vendors reduce total cost by offering a sealed solution.
         •§Hardware and software pricing isn’t transparent with Open RAN.
         •§Network maintenance costs increase with Open RAN due to complexity.

The claims of Open RAN being as expensive — if not more expensive — than legacy networks tend to come from either the very few companies selling legacy network technology or the mobile operators that have invested considerably in that technology.

Rakuten Mobile is the world’s first mobile networks built on Open RAN. In deploying its network with a wider portfolio of radio units and software components and taking advantage of virtualization and automation, Rakuten Mobile’s capital expenditures are approximately 40% lower, and operational expenditures are 30% lower, than a traditional legacy deployment.

Here are the actual results:

CAPEX reduction of up to 40%. This reduction of expenses for building the network is realized primarily due to the network requiring less equipment at each base station, and running virtualized software on top of commercial off the shelf hardware IT servers instead of tightly-integrated purpose-built hardware and software. That’s less hardware and less expensive commodity hardware to purchase and install.

OPEX reduction of up to 30%. Having less equipment at each site means Rakuten Mobile saves on maintenance. Having a network that is fully virtualized and intelligent means the network can monitor and maintain itself (currently with automation and in the future with autonomy).

Open RAN also opens a market previously dominated by a handful of major companies to new, smaller players, which will promote innovation and choice in the industry. This will allow operators to select the exact equipment to suit their needs and budget, and the competition will lead to more innovation and lower prices in the long run.

https://rakuten.today/blog/mythbusting-open-ran.html
 

Rakuten Securities Commemorating the achievement of 6 million foreign securities trading accounts! U.S. Equity Trading Fee Launches Virtually Free Program for Up to 2 Months

2021-06-29 by rehow

Rakuten Securities

Commemorating the achievement of 6 million foreign securities trading accounts! U.S. Equity Trading Fee Launches Virtually Free Program for Up to 2 Months

Rakuten Securities, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Yuji Kusunoki, hereinafter “Rakuten Securities”) commemorates the achievement of 6 million foreign securities trading accounts on July 1, 2021. We are pleased to inform you that from Sunday (Thursday), we will start a program to make transaction fees for US stock trading virtually free for up to two months after opening a general securities account.

Rakuten Securities has received more attention to US equity investment than ever before, and in order for individual investors to realize lower cost US equity investment, Rakuten Securities will be able to invest in US equities at a lower cost on Thursday, July 1, 2021. For customers who will newly open a general securities account of Rakuten Securities, the transaction fee for US stock trading will be virtually free for up to two months after opening the general securities account.

Since the launch of the US stock trading service in 1999, Rakuten Securities has expanded various US stock investment information including real-time stock price information so that individual investors can trade US stocks more comfortably, the lowest in the industry. Aggressive, such as providing level transaction fees and the first major online securities stock trading app for smartphones “iSPEED (R)” that allows you to trade domestic and US stocks on a single screen. We are working to expand our services. Rakuten Securities also has a point program in which 1 to 2% of the transaction fees paid in US stock trading are returned with “Rakuten points”. In addition, the transaction fee for up to two months after opening a general securities account will be virtually free, creating an environment where it is easier to invest in US stocks without worrying about costs more than ever.

Rakuten Securities will continue to expand its customer base and contribute to its asset formation and investment activities by providing attractive products and services that meet the needs of its customers.

https://re-how.net/all/1197423/  

Rakuten Securities expands offering of trading instruments

Posted by Maria Nikolova | Jun 29, 2021 |

https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/retail-forex/...ading-instruments/  

Rakuten Mobile awarded Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award and CTO Choice: Outstanding Mobile Technology award for its 5G Open RAN on Kubernetes solution

July 5, 2021, Tokyo – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that the company was awarded two awards at the annual Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) during the 2021 Mobile World Congress Barcelona.

The GLOMO Awards are widely recognized as the most prestigious recognition scheme in the mobile industry and judged by independent experts, analysts, journalists, academics, and mobile operator representatives. The Awards celebrate the companies and individuals driving innovation in the rapidly evolving mobile industry.

In the award category Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough, Rakuten Mobile won for its submission for 5G Open RAN on Kubernetes. Rakuten Mobile was also recognized with the CTO Choice: Outstanding Mobile Technology Award, the highest recognition from the global telco industry at the 2021 GLOMO Awards. A panel of industry experts comprised of more than 20 CTOs from every continent selected Rakuten Mobile as the overall technology winner from the eight best ‘Mobile Tech’ in 2020 award winners.

“We have achieved something not performed until now in the telco industry,” commented Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CTO of Rakuten Mobile. “I am incredibly proud of the team at Rakuten Mobile and our many partners for achieving a disaggregated Open RAN deployment on a container-based solution. And I am humbled that CTOs from around the world have recognized Rakuten Mobile for this technology breakthrough.”

John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd offered praise for Rakuten Mobile and all award winners, “Congratulations to all the winners and nominees of the GSMA’s GLOMO Awards 2021. You truly embody the theme of this year’s event, Connected Impact. Given the challenging circumstances we’ve all faced over the 15 months, it’s more important than ever to come together to recognize the incredible innovation and ingenuity shaping our industry, as well as the positive impact this is making on the world around us.”

The GLOMO judges commented on Rakuten Mobile, “This company, with ecosystem partners, has successfully deployed a fully open, cloud-native and cost-effective mobile network, a great benchmark for the operators globally to adopt and join the open network bandwagon.”

Rakuten Mobile’s unique solution

Built together with its ecosystem partners, Rakuten Mobile’s solution is to run 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) functions as microservices in containers. Containers are a lighter-weight, more agile way of handling virtualization — enabling the user to realize faster resource provisioning and speedier availability of new applications.

Another unique aspect of Rakuten Mobile’s award-winning solution is that the 5G RAN functions run as microservices on a commodity off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware platform based on Open RAN specifications and cloud native technologies. This results in greater flexibility and elasticity in architecting; the ability to quickly scale and more easily deploy 5G networks; and the support of diverse 5G use cases with a lower total cost of ownership.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2021/...mp;category=mobile  

Why It’s Important: Rakuten Mobile, Intel and NEC collaborate on containerized 5G SA core network

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Alan Weissberger

Rakuten Mobile, NEC and Intel announced today that they have achieved a performance of 640 Gbps per server for the containerized User Plane Function (UPF) on the containerized 5G SA core network jointly developed by Rakuten Mobile and NEC running on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

In the absence of ITU-T standards or 3GPP implementation specs (beyond architecture and functional requirements) for 5G SA core network or the ultra hyped 5G functions that go with it (e.g. network slicing, automation, service chaining, etc), the Rakuten Mobile-NEC containerized 5G SA core network is a very important development.

We documented that in this IEEE Techblog post. Rakuten has said they plan to sell their RCS platform (which includes 5G SA core network spec and software) to 5G SA network providers. They say they already have at least 15 customers.

According to Dave Bolan of Dell’Oro Group, most 5G SA networks will be based on containers (rather then virtualized network functions/VNF).

Many analysts say that containerized UPF performance is needed to maximize the value of 5G deployment. This is because the control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane), which were historically collocated, are completely decoupled in this disaggregated 5G architecture. Separating them enables an independently scalable UPF which is key to private networks, edge computing, hybrid cloud and to accelerate a variety of deployment scenarios. Rakuten Mobile has adopted 5G architecture from the launch of its network, including a CUPS (Control and User Plane Separated) packet core for its 4G LTE network.

TelecomTV says that control and data plane separation enables the 5G network operator to deploy multiple UPF instances closer to where the traffic originates, rather than at fixed locations in the network. The result is lower latency and a better user experience. It also means UPF instances can be turned on and off as capacity demand dictates, enabling operators to dynamically allocate network resources.

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2021/06/25/...nerized-5g-sa-core-network/  

Japan's Smartphone Plans Got Cheaper in 2021! A Roundup of 6 Providers

https://matcha-jp.com/en/10425  

Phone 12 “half price” program started Rakuten Mobile OK without line contract –Engadget Japanese version

June 29, 2021 by archyde

Rakuten Mobile has started offering the “Rakuten Mobile iPhone Upgrad

In this program, the main unit price is paid in 48-month installments using Rakuten Card, and the product is returned to Rakuten Mobile after the 25th month, exempting the payment of the remaining bonds thereafter.

If the item is deformed or damaged when it is returned, a failure fee of 22,000 yen will be incurred. If you have paid for the device, you do not need to return the device. In addition, when using the program, an additional administrative fee of 3300 yen will be incurred as a delivery and assessment fee.

The program can only be applied for when purchasing an iPhone. Since it can be used without a contract with Rakuten Mobile, the concern of so-called “four-year binding” has been dispelled.

https://www.archyde.com/...t-line-contract-engadget-japanese-version/