Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

The Japanese e-commerce and business giant Rakuten has taken yet another significant step into the world of crypto – by linking its crypto platform with its e-pay operations.

In an official release, the firm announced that it would allow customers of its Rakuten Wallet crypto wallet and exchange platform to top up their e-pay accounts using bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and bitcoin cash (BCH), in what it claimed was a Japanese first: The company stated that no other firms allowed “charge-free” crypto-to-e-pay transactions.

The company operates its own Rakuten Cash and Rakuten Pay ecosystems, which allows customers to spend their money via smartphone apps at participating outlets, including the convenience store chains Lawson and 7 Eleven, as well as the Seiyu supermarket group.

Rakuten Cash can also be exchanged for Rakuten Points, which can be used to pay at partner firms like McDonald’s in Japan, as well as the retail chain FamilyMart.

The gateway will mean that crypto customers will also be able to spend their tokens on a range of Rakuten’s own products and services, including its mobile operations, travel, streaming services, as well as its Kobo e-books and audiobooks retailing platform.

The firm stated that the service would launch in spring this year and crypto transactions would be restricted to a minimum of around USD 9.50, with a maximum monthly limit of USD 950,000.

https://cryptonews.com/news/...charge-e-pay-accounts-with-bt-9343.htm
 

Alchemy Pay Teams Up With QFPay to Power Digital Currency Payments For Shopify Merchants
October 12, 2020

Alchemy Pay, a hybrid digital and fiat payment solutions provider, recently announced it will be launching its hybrid fiat and cryptocurrency payment services for e-commerce merchants on Shopify through its new partnership with QFPay, a fiat payments provider with more than 1.2 million merchants.
“Shopify users from countries including UK, US, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and more can now begin to accept nine top digital currencies, namely BTC, ETH, BCH, BNB, BUSD, USDT, GUSD, LTC and ACH – the multifunctional utility token issued by Alchemy.”
While sharing details about the collaboration and launch, Shawn Shi, Alchemy Pay’s Head of Product, stated:
“This launch effectively puts the power of cryptocurrency acceptance in the hands of Shopify eCommerce merchants who serviced over 218 million consumers in 2019. We’re truly excited to see how far this step will propel the cryptocurrency space forward!”

https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/10/...it&utm_medium=twitter

Digital payments startup QFPay announced today that it has raised $20 million in new funding led by returning investors Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners. MDI Ventures (the investment arm of state-owned Indonesian telecom Telkom Indonesia), Rakuten Capital and VentureSouq also participated as new strategic investors.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/13/...7ap-cRhTXTozeh3gS-zm1WbHCuykPUUs  

Wie Marketer die Herausforderungen von ITP und Regulierungen meistern können

Von Rakuten Advertising | 18 February 2021

Die Entwicklung der Vorschriften zur Privatsphäre und zum Datenschutz hat – in Kombination mit Technologien zum Schutz vor Tracking wie ITP – in den letzten Jahren viele Herausforderungen für die digitale Industrie mit sich gebracht.

Um die besagten Herausforderungen zu bewältigen, müssen Marketer taktisch wie strategisch auf den Rückgang von IDs und Cookies reagieren. Die Compliance-Experten von Rakuten Advertising untersuchen Tools für Werbetreibende, die nur minimale Ressourcen und ein minimales Budget erfordern.

         •§Daten von Erstanbietern werden bei den Tätigkeiten von Advertisern weiterhin eine größere Rolle spielen. Derzeit blockierte Methoden gelten nur für die Browser-Aktivitäten der Kunden; serverseitige Daten sind noch nicht betroffen. Infolgedessen empfiehlt Rakuten Advertising, dass Advertiser die Integration verstärken, und zwar durch das Setzen von serverseitigen Cookies von Rakuten Advertising (dieses Update ist kompatibel mit EWS und leistungsfähigen Tag-Lösungen).
         •§Consent Management Platforms (CMP) ermöglichen Websites, mithilfe von Cookies und gemäß GDPR, CCPA und LGPD die Einwilligung zur Erhebung von Verbraucherdaten einzuholen. Rakuten Advertising bietet mehrere Tools, die beim Compliance- und Consent-Management behilflich sein können:
         •§CMP Wrapper: Eine Daten-Pipeline für Kunden, die die CMP eines Drittanbieters nutzen. Diese Pipeline teilt Daten, für die vorher eine Einwilligung eingeholt wurde.
         •§Cookie Banner Integration: Eine Daten-Pipeline für Kunden, die Cookie-Banner verwenden. Diese Pipeline teilt Daten, für die vorher eine Einwilligung eingeholt wurde. Auf der Website eines Unternehmens wird ein einfaches Pop-up-Fenster angezeigt, das den Nutzer um die Einwilligung zur Speicherung der Cookies bittet.
         •§Consent in Affiliate Links: Fast jedes Geschäftsmodell eines Publishers kann die im Affiliate-Tracking-Link integrierten Parameter zur Einwilligung nutzen. Der „CNTS“-Parameter fordert außerdem von den Verbrauchern ein manuelles „Opt-out“-Signal an. Dies ist für die Einhaltung der CCPA-Richtlinien erforderlich.
         •§Publisher Activation Tag: Der Publisher Activation Tag ist ein ergänzendes Tool, das Publishern ermöglicht, für die Affiliate Links von Rakuten Advertising eine einfache Einwilligung der Verbraucher einzuholen.
         •§Rakuten Advertising Disclosure & Opt-out-Link: Der Bereich zu persönlichen Datenschutzrechten, der sich auf jeder Seite einer Website befindet, verweist auf die Links zum Opt-out und zum Thema Datenerfassung bei Rakuten Advertising.

https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/de-de/news/...rderungen-meistern/
 

Altiostar has teamed up with Airtel and NEC to demonstrate the world's first interoperability testing and integration of massive MIMO radio units (O-RU) and virtualized distributed units (O-DU) running on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) servers. The demonstration features a commercial end-to-end Open Fronthaul interface based on O-RAN specifications. This demonstration was comprised of control, user, synchronization and management plane protocols, including 3GPP RCT and performance cases.

https://www.virtualexhibition.o-ran.org/classic/.../open-interface/83

Altiostar has teamed up with Airtel and NEC to demonstrate the world's first interoperability testing and integration of massive MIMO radio units (O-RU) and virtualized distributed units (O-DU) running on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) servers. The demonstration features a commercial end-to-end Open Fronthaul interface based on O-RAN specifications. This demonstration was comprised of control, user, synchronization and management plane protocols, including 3GPP RCT and performance cases.

https://www.virtualexhibition.o-ran.org/classic/.../open-interface/83  

Applications Close on April 7 for Rakuten Mobile One-Year Free Campaign

Tokyo, March 1, 2021 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that applications for the Rakuten UN-LIMIT campaign initially launched in April 2020 offering subscribers their first full year of service free of monthly fees*1 will close on April 7, 2021. Since the announcement of the new Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan, the number of applications for Rakuten UN-LIMIT have grown considerably, and as the number is expected to surpass 3 million soon, the company has decided to close the campaign for new applications on April 7, 2021.

About the new Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan

The Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan is an enhanced version of the Rakuten UN-LIMIT V plan with a simple fee structure that flexibly adjusts in line with customer data use. The new service plan caters to the diverse needs of customers, from light users who consume very little data, to heavy users who don’t want to have to worry about their monthly data use. As with the previous plan, subscribers can use both 4G and 5G services*3, in addition to free domestic calls when using the Rakuten Link communication app*4.

With the new Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan, the monthly rate will be determined by the amount of data used each month. When total monthly data usage is 1GB or less, the fee will be zero yen for a customer’s first line. If the total monthly data usage is between 1GB and 3GB, the fee will be 980 yen, and for total monthly data usage between 3GB and 20GB, the fee will be 1,980 yen for a customer’s first line. Customers whose data usage exceeds 20GB can use unlimited data*5 for 2,980 yen per month. For customers with a second line, total monthly data usage of 3GB or less will be charged at 980 yen.

Current Rakuten UN-LIMIT V customers will be automatically upgraded to Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI on April 1, 2021. New applications made through the Rakuten Mobile official website or in Rakuten Mobile shops from April 1, 2021, and onwards will be for the Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI price plan.

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2021/0301_01/  

Ligado and Rakuten Mobile are to use RCP assets to “create a blueprint for Ligado’s 5G mobile private network solution,” and “collaborate with enterprise customers on advanced use cases and the final technology stack for a launch of the 5G mobile private network offering.”

The aim is to develop an RCP-based package that enterprises can deploy for Open RAN-based private networks that make use of the L-band spectrum (1.5/1.6 GHz lower mid-band) for which Ligado has a license: Ligado’s aim is to provide and run the networks on a managed services basis.

“5G mobile private networks are becoming critical infrastructure for many industries,” noted Doug Smith, President and CEO at Ligado Networks. “Combining our know-how and licensed L-Band spectrum in the U.S. with the Rakuten Communications Platform and Open RAN infrastructure, we will create a novel blueprint for delivering new efficiencies to U.S. companies looking to deploy powerful mobile private networks that are highly secure and ultra-reliable.”

The pitch to enterprises is that they can have their own 5G private network and connect their various locations to the wider world via terrestrial and satellite connections, which Ligado can provide from its SkyTerra 1 satellite that covers the US.

The news will please those keen to see the US become a hot bed of Open RAN expertise: Both Ligado and Rakuten Mobile are members of the Open RAN Policy Coalition, which lobbies for “policies that promote a diverse and competitive wireless market.”

The Rakuten/Ligado relationship will also act as a litmus test for the alternative approach to designing and building networks of which RCP is an early example but which is also being pitched by one of its local rivals, NTT DOCOMO. (See NTT DOCOMO spearheads new 5G Open RAN Ecosystem.)
And it’ll be a test not only of that design and delivery model but also the applicability (from a commercial, operational and technical perspective) of Open RAN to private networks.    
Ligado’s plans are fuelled by approval from the FCC last April to use its L-band spectrum for a low-power terrestrial 5G network – a decision confirmed last month following challenges from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) concerning potential GPS interference – and a $3.85 billion round of funding the company secured in October last year.

https://www.telecomtv.com/content/open-ran/...pen-ran-playbook-40828/  
 

• The stock is trading below working capital

• Rakuten’s mobile segment will boost revenue growth and could easily double its revenue.

• By offering multiple services, it is able to retain consumers within the ecosystem.

Rakuten Inc. (OTC:RKUNY) is a very diversified conglomerate and their operations range from Banking to Travel Services. In the past, it has been able to create an ecosystem for its customers that benefits the company’s operations. Through a loyalty program, through which customers earn loyalty points that can be exchanged for products and services. The company can easily retain its customers, and is able to offer them multiple services.

Rakuten is one of the leading e-commerce platforms, and the japanese e-commerce market is set to continue to rise at 6% until 2022. Rakuten is the also the leading credit card provider in Japan, having recently focused on telecommunication services and is set to shake the Japanese Telecommunication Market.

According to the World Bank, Japan has nearly 180 million mobile subscriptions. For Rakuten to double the revenues it had in 2019, it would require around 35.5 million new mobile subscribers. This is approximately 19.6% of the total addressable market. We can conclude that if Rakuten Mobile manages to capture nearly 20% of the addressable market. If so the company will be able to increase its revenues by at least 100%.

The company has managed to increase revenues and cash flows from operations at a fast pace and since the announcement in 2017, has been deploying capital to expand into mobile. Once the infrastructure is in place, Rakuten will become a more attractive company. By producing much more free cash flow, there is an upside potential in the stock price. The balance sheet currently holds over ¥2,296 Billion in cash and should provide enough safety in the short term until the company completes its mobile infrastructure and unlocks a new revenue stream.

Risks

The main concern with Rakuten has been the debt it has accumulated over the recent years. At the end of the second quarter, the total long term debt amounted to slightly over ¥2,069 Billion. This puts some pressure on the company, as it expands operations. The company has exceeded the expectations deploying 4,738 of the 4,400 initially planned base stations, but had to delay its 5G launch due to COVID-19. It is still unclear what kind of margins Rakuten Mobile will be able to achieve, given that further capex will be needed to complete the network’s infrastructure. It is also dependent on the future customer acquisition costs. Adding to that competitors will eventually change the pricing structure for their plans. In order to be more competitive, and prevent Rakuten from gaining any market share.

Conclusion

With the launch of the Mobile segment, the company is expected to grow revenues at a fast pace. Given the growth prospects, it seems undervalued. Despite the lack of earnings in the past year and a half. The stock offers a compelling growth story at an attractive price for the patient investor. The ecosystem it has created is able to easily retain customers, offering them multiple services. Reducing customer acquisition costs, as it is emphasized by its loyalty program.

It is expected that once the company is able to fully put in place its mobile segment. It will be able to generate a lot more free cash flow and be able to reduce debt, which should benefit long term investors. At the current price, the stock offers enough long-term upside to initiate a position.

https://www.valueofstocks.com/2020/12/25/...ile-could-change-rakuten/  

AST SpaceMobile Announces an Expanded Board of Directors to Join at The Closing of the Business Combination with New Providence Acquisition Corp.

The AST Business Combination was structured to provide adequate funding to build and launch AST SpaceMobile's first phase of 20 production satellites by early 2023. These satellites are expected to initially enable service to equatorial regions, covering 1.6 billion people and begin generating revenue in collaboration with world-class mobile network operators that include one of our founding and strategic technology partners, Vodafone.

AST SpaceMobile's goal, in partnership with existing mobile operators, is to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today's 5 billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to approximately half of the world's population who remain unconnected.

Members of the AST SpaceMobile Board of Directors after closing will include:

• Edward Knapp, Chief Technology Officer for American Tower Corporation
• Richard Sarnoff, Partner at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company ("KKR")
• Ronald Rubin, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Tower Alliance, LLC.
• Julio A. Torres, Managing Partner at Multiple Equilibria Capital
• Alexander Coleman, NPA's Chairman

These leaders will join individuals who currently serve on AST's Board of Directors as directors of AST SpaceMobile, including:

• Abel Avellan, AST's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
• Thomas Severson, Chief Financial and Operating Officer of AST
• Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten, Inc.
• Tareq Amin, Group Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten, Inc.
• Luke Ibbetson, Head of Group R&D at Vodafone Group
• Adriana Cisneros, Chief Executive Officer of Cisneros

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...ition-corp-301238378.html  

Cabify makes car-share deal with Wible

March 1, 2021

Ride-hailing app Cabify is to offer a car-share service to its users in Madrid via a deal with car-sharing company Wible.

Reuters reports that Wible's plug-in hybrid vehicles in the Spanish capital will be available to users of the Cabify app for per-minute rental.

Wible's prices start at €0.25 a minute up to €6 an hour and users can go outside of Madrid for €65 a day with 100km included.

The Cabify service is active throughout South America, as well as Spain and the Dominican Republic.

https://www.itsinternational.com/its17/news/...s-car-share-deal-wible  

APAC mobile services revenue maintain a CAGR of 6.1% between 2020-2025 and average monthly mobile data usage in APAC will increase drastically from 7.7GB in 2020 to about 14.4GB by 2025

GlobalData forecasts APAC mobile services revenue, which declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to recover in 2021 and maintain a CAGR of 6.1% between 2020-2025, mainly driven by mobile data service segment.

Aasif Iqbal, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: 'While mobile voice service revenues in APAC will decline at a CAGR of 0.3% over the forecast period as a result of falling voice average revenue per user (ARPU) levels, mobile data service revenue is set to increase at a robust CAGR of 10.1% over 2020-2025 period, supported by the growing adoption of higher ARPU 4G/5G subscriptions in the region.'

The average monthly mobile data usage in APAC will increase drastically from 7.7GB in 2020 to about 14.4GB by 2025, with surge in the consumption of online video and social media applications on the back of data-centric plans promoted by the operators.

For instance, Vodafone and Airtel in India, Telenor and Ooredoo in Myanmar and NTT and Rakuten in Japan have been aggressively investing in LTE network expansion.

Mr Iqbal concludes: 'Similar to all other regions, 5G service deployments by operators and its adoption by users in Asia-Pacific were affected to an extent by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the governments and regulators across many countries in the region are working together to create a favourable business environment to encourage investment and allow operators to rollout and expand 4G/5G services further.'

http://www.publicnow.com/view/760EF12BE4FE8259C45485BB73EE6BAFF0C073F5  

Rakuten Communications Platform wants to conquer the world
by Roger Entner |
Mar 1, 2021 12:23pm

Japan’s Rakuten is the first global mobile network operator (MNO) to fully virtualize their networks, with millions of active customers on commercial service. Rakuten has taken their expertise of being a fully virtualized operator to create the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), which packages its vendor portfolio and deployment expertise and markets it to other operators who also want to run their network in the cloud.

Interestingly, the vendor product portfolio that is being sold is more extensive than what Rakuten has chosen to deploy. Based on news reports, Rakuten has already signed up 15 customers on RCP. The first publicly announced RCP trial partner is Ligado.

Based on our research, the RCP universe consists of the following players:

Qualcomm and Intel are also mentioned as RCP participants but apparently are mostly involved as silicon providers for their particular area of expertise.

Rakuten continues to use Innoeye and Altiostar, which it has purchased outright in Innoeye’s case or has an equity investment like Altiostar, for orchestration and open RAN software, respectively. Mavenir continues to supply the IMS/RCS software and Quanta provides the servers.

One of the powerful features of RCP is that an MNO can mix and match from any vendor in the RCP portfolio. If an MNO  prefers Nokia or Airspan as their radio vendor, they can use Nokia’s mmWave product for 5G or use Airspan for both mmWave and sub-6 GHz Airspan’s open RAN software or use Altiostar’s software.

Medium-size MNOs and greenfield operators, especially if they are not dependent on vendor financing and the small rural MNOs in the United States who have to replace the Huawei equipment in their network and are collectively paid $1.9 billion to do so are a prime target for RCP. Rakuten’s offering lets MNOs jump to state-of-the-art software-defined networks with open RAN. Software-defined networks are more flexible and cheaper to operate and due to the standardization of hardware, they are less expensive to buy.

Especially the rural operators who are replacing their equipment should invest in the technology of the future, SDN, and open RAN, regardless of whether they choose RCP or a custom route, rather than invest in the past's integrated hardware and software.

For rural MNOs who have to run their network with a lean team, SDN's automation allows the network operation teams to be more efficient and effective.

https://www.fiercewireless.com/operators/...s-to-conquer-world-entner
 

More Security with Open RAN

As service providers implement 5G networks, security in all aspects of the network is critical. Open RAN is now being adopted for 4G and 5G networks and will play a big role in these emerging networks. In addition to lower cost and better scalability, Open RAN systems also have several security advantages over a proprietary/closed system due to virtualization/cloud-native security features, a transparent architecture, and a broad partner ecosystem.

The overarching architecture is important, but so are the detailed aspects of the built-in security mechanisms. That is why Altiostar recently jointly published two documents on Open RAN security that provide a comprehensive look into the overall security architecture and specific security mechanisms that are part of Open RAN systems. Both papers were published with other vendors/suppliers in the Open RAN ecosystem.

https://www.altiostar.com/security-for-open-ran/  

Mobile tech explained: The Future of Radio Access Networks

19 hours ago

Changing mobile user behavior, new mobile devices and new demands for mobile networks are driving the need for mobile operators to re-examine how they deploy next generation networks. Growing data consumption and high costs for deploying 5G are forcing operators to re-evaluate their capital expense (CAPEX) and operating expense (OPEX) plans while turning them to look to technology options capable of delivering accelerated innovation. Because the Radio Access Network (RAN) can account for more than half of a network’s total cost of ownership (TCO), innovation and cost savings within the RAN is critical.

Traditionally the RAN is built with custom hardware provided by a few select vendors, and their technology works perfectly fine. However, technology development and innovation has been in the hands of just a few suppliers, which has restricted the vision and strategy for the future of network deployments. At the same time, the telecom industry is experiencing unprecedented growth in data use. Customer data consumption patterns are becoming unpredictable. Service providers are forced to explore highly scalable, modular and intelligent network deployment strategies. This is only possible with a diverse supply chain and radical technology transformation using web scale technologies.

Rakuten Mobile has reduced the footprint of a typical cell site by 30%, which translates into lower capital and operating costs. That’s a big deal given Rakuten Mobile plans to deploy about 44,000 base stations across Japan for its 4G network. Virtualization and commoditization of RAN computer hardware has enabled Rakuten Mobile to speed up simultaneous 4G and 5G network deployment.

https://rakuten.today/blog/...he-future-of-radio-access-networks.html  

hinbekommen.

Seit Mitte der 2000er Jahre hat sich der Gebrauchtmarkt in Frankreich stetig entwickelt, bis er im vergangenen Jahr eine echte Beschleunigung errungen hat und sich heute zu einem dauerhaften Trend entwickelt.

Kleidung, Möbel, Haushaltsgeräte... Die gebrauchten Produkte beziehen sich auf alle Kategorien und erwirtschafteten 2019 * nicht weniger als 7,4 Mrd. EUR (Ankauf/Verkauf).
Bei Rakuten, einem historischen Akteur auf dem Gebrauchtmarkt, haben wir Hélène Slamich, unsere Expertin für den Verkauf von Privatpersonen, gebeten, uns bei der Entschlüsselung dieses Phänomens zu helfen.  

In einem Jahr verzeichneten wir mehr als 35% Zuwachs auf der Gelegenheit im Vergleich zu 2019. Allein im letzten Quartal ist es ein Höchststand von bis zu 60% Wachstum!
Um mehr über das Wachstum des gebrauchten Marktes auf der Plattform sowie die Produkttrends von 2020 zu erfahren, lesen Sie unsere Infografik:  

https://global.fr.shopping.rakuten.com/actualites/...e-ses-tendances/
 

Am 5. März 2021 gab Rakuten die Erweiterung des neuesten Support-Bereichs für seinen MNO-Dienst Rakuten Mobile bekannt.

Rakuten Mobile Expanded Area per 18. Februar 2021
         •Tokorozawa
         •     Ikuma 
         •    Sakado §
         •§Nagareyama City, Präfektur Chiba
         •§Insai City
         •    Hamura
         •    Mizuho 
         •     Ebina 
         •     Ayase §
         •§Sabae City
         •§Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka-Stadt, Präfektur Shizuoka
         •  Tokaichi          §
         •§Komaki City, Präfektur Aichi
         •§Chita City, Präfektur Aichi
         •    Oguchi
         •      Akui 
         •      Otsu 
         • Kishiwada 
         •     Minoh §
         •§Naka Ward, Okayama City, Präfektur Okayama
         •§Minami Ward, Okayama City, Präfektur Okayama
         •§Kochi City, Präfektur Kochi
         •§Yahata-nishi Ward, Stadt Kitakyushu, Präfektur Fukuoka
         •§Jonan Ward, Fukuoka-Stadt, Präfektur Fukuoka
         •§Kurume City

https://jetstream.bz/archives/119336
 

Messaging apps like Viber are taking the welfare of their users seriously

Why I’m more optimistic on the next decade in communications

ByANNA ZNAMENSKAYA / RAKUTEN VIBER CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER
JANUARY 16, 2021

Disinformation has been so rampant in the past years that organizations like the World Health Organization and the Philippines’ Department of Health made sure to take action and partnered with Rakuten Viber to bring verified, timely and ultimately life-saving updates about the Covid-19 pandemic. And this is for a good reason, as one of the best ways to combat fake news is to grow and educate online communities, which are insulated by algorithms and troll armies.

And it seems like the users are loving it. In the first weeks of the pandemic, engagement within Viber Communities surged up to 120 percent in the Philippines alone. The DOH Viber Community has also become one of the largest Communities in the world, gaining two million followers in just a few months. Even micro, small, and medium enterprises and big brands have also created their own online Viber Communities to provide topnotch customer service during the pandemic and beyond. While Viber Communities are user-created, (the company) only enables one for public search after we manually verify and ensure the content meets our policy for the further protection of our users.

With these in mind, it’s really about time we rethink about the communications channels we use. Doing so doesn’t mean that we’re disengaging from our connections. With apps like Viber, we can still maintain our social circle—and even better, pay more attention to forging real, trusted connections and having meaningful conversations with family and friends. As user privacy remains a priority at Viber, it also gives you the opportunity to find safe and secure spaces to build and grow communities.

But that’s not all. Messaging apps like Viber are taking the welfare of their users seriously that they’re entering a new era, one that moves communication platforms beyond messages and calls. We’re entering an era wherein our messaging app can also serve as our digital wallet thanks to key partners in the fintech space, making it easier for users to make in-chat payments. And the possibilities are endless and more exciting than what we’ve seen in the past decade. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for all in the coming years, and move to a more positive future of how we communicate and connect with the world.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/01/16/...decade-in-communications/  

to traffic surges

What’s more, Rakuten Mobile’s RAN uses generic off-the-shelf computer servers, rather than the dedicated hardware employed in traditional mobile networks. This is made possible by virtualization – tools that can create a virtual computing platform on generic hardware that allocates the necessary processing, memory, storage, and network capacity to run the software required to perform a specific task. Each virtual machine can run independently while sharing hardware resources.

“Because it’s virtual, you essentially have unlimited capacity to scale and deploy infrastructure anywhere,” notes Sushil Rawat, director of vRAN access product development at Rakuten Mobile. “We have disaggregated the hardware and software so that the actual brain behind the cell site is sitting in a data center, where we have a pool of hardware that gives us the freedom to scale up and scale down in real time.”

This kind of flexibility can help a mobile operator cope with the dramatic changes in usage patterns that might take place during live events. For example, most of the time a sports stadium lies empty. But on match day, it fills with thousands of people and their handsets, which suddenly generate a vast amount of signaling traffic for the network. During the game, the spectators will be absorbed in the action – they aren’t using much mobile data. But when it ends, many of them might take a selfie and upload it to social media – now the network has to cope with a surge in traffic in the uplink. Rakuten’s disaggregated RAN is much better placed to cope with such scenarios than a traditional cellular network because with a software approach, you can immediately scale capacity up or down based on demand.

https://rakuten.today/blog/...he-future-of-radio-access-networks.html
 

Your 2021 marketing toolbox: 6 trends to inform your New Year marketing strategy

by Cristina Constandache
17 December 2020 16:49pm

https://www.thedrum.com/profile/viber/news/...year-marketing-strategy
 

Open RAN architectures offer improved security compared to single vendor systems, because they are more modular, more visible and are less interdependent

Service providers are scaling their networks to support traffic demand from 5G, IoT and wired/wireline convergence. Many operators are exploring disaggregation of the radio access network (RAN), coupled with the open interfaces defined by the O-RAN Alliance.

The disaggregation of the RAN comes with many benefits for network operators, including reduced capital investment, lower operating expenses, architectures built around use cases rather than around vendors, and a more robust supply chain. Network operators can promote supplier diversity by adopting industry standards like O-RAN, OpenRAN from Telecom Infrastructure Project, and OpenAirInterface. They can choose the optimum products to meet requirements and prioritize alliances with a vendor ecosystem that has local partners in the country of operations.

The Red Hat and Altiostar solution enables network operators to fully leverage the benefits of open RAN. It delivers full RAN functionality using network functions virtualization (NFV) infrastructure from Red Hat and RAN technology from Altiostar. This approach decouples baseband functions from the underlying hardware and creates a software fabric that spans both LTE and 5G networks. Network operators can more easily develop new applications and services, or leverage third-party, cloud-native applications.

The disaggregation of the RAN increases the number of discrete elements and connections in the network, which has led to a misconception by some in the industry that open RAN is inherently insecure due to the increase in the network’s attack surface.

A closer examination of open RAN reveals that it is not inherently less secure than traditional network architectures. In reality, avoiding vendor lock-in is one of the best ways to lay the foundation for an intrinsically secure network. According to 451 Research, open RAN architectures offer improved security compared to single vendor systems, because they are more modular, more visible and are less interdependent.

https://www.fiercewireless.com/sponsored/inherent-security-open-ran  

A growing number of online banking platforms are dedicated to small businesses. They tend to offer business checking at low or no fees and have a heavy emphasis on mobile banking for speed and efficiency.

BlueVine takes that basic concept and adds even more features, including paper checks, the ability to earn high interest on your checking account balance, accepting cash deposits, and even small business financing. BlueVine should be near the top of your list if you're a small business owner looking for a new banking relationship.

         •§Today the company has more than 200,000 customers and has provided small business financing in excess of $9 billion.
         •§BlueVine provides an online business checking account. And in another departure from the crowd of online small business checking providers, BlueVine's checking account pays interest and comes with paper checks.
         •§Like most online business checking account banks, BlueVine does not offer specific deposit accounts, like certificates of deposit (CDs) or money market or savings accounts.
         •§BlueVine is available in all 50 states for small business owners engaged in just about any type of industry. The only exceptions are adult entertainment, gambling, illegal substances, and weapons, and firearms.
         •§The bank has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, the highest on a scale of A+ to F and has been accredited by the agency since 2014.

https://investorjunkie.com/reviews/bluevine/
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A86bPzsN48o  

Im Gegensatz zu Herrn Capano bin ich allerdings der Meinung, dass sich die Situation für kleine Anbieter geändert hat, da die neue Strategie von Rakuten Deutschland für sie kaum in Frage kommt, sich allerdings für Raktuen wohl rechnet.

February 1, 2021

During the Corona crisis, you announced that you would be withdrawing from the German market. How does your new strategy for Rakuten and what role does the German market play in this?

Anthony Capano: On the contrary, Germany is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world and therefore an important growth market for Rakuten. This has only developed further due to the corona crisis and the lockdown regulations. So far we have invested heavily in the German market and would like to continue here expand. For this reason we decided to make the Rakuten.de marketplace one open e-commerce platform to adapt the range to the long-standing models in the UK, Spain and other countries. Dealers can continue to sell their products to German consumers via the platform.

Our extensive affiliate network Rakuten Advertising is still available in Germany. Since the launch of Rakuten Advertising in February 2020 for a comprehensive online marketing strategy, advertisers and agencies have been able to leverage Rakuten’s wide range of media, consumer insights and award-winning performance marketing ecosystem. The extensive affiliate network, programmatic retargeting and prospecting technology with consumer insights from Rakuten Intelligence and Rakuten Medien could be combined under one roof.

What do you recommend to dealers who have sold through Rakuten Germany up to now? In your opinion, what do you have to do for your online marketing strategy in order to continue selling successfully?

Anthony Capano: The move to the open e-commerce platform shouldn’t change much for retailers. As usual, buyers can find consumer goods such as fashion, technology, furniture but also financial services or even electricity providers. With this model, points can be collected with every purchase, the so-called Rakuten Points. These can in turn be exchanged for shopping credit at other retailers and well-known brands, but also for credit for Rakuten media.

https://www.no1geekfun.com/...y-into-the-year-2021-ecommerce-magazin/

 

End-to-end logistics Management with Rakuten Super Logistics

The process of shipping products, right from dispatching them from the storage until they land on the doorstep of the client, is extremely lengthy and cumbersome, especially in the case of international shipping. The package often undergoes several changes of hands during the course of the entire process. This makes the shipment prone to so many mishaps as well as security breaches.

One of the trends that we’re likely to see in the coming years is many companies will form a conglomerate of such smaller units and offer end-to-end logistics services to the customers. It will save them the trouble of scrambling for a different service provider for each stage of the process and will provide them a cost-effective and much more secure shipping solution.

Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL) is the leader in eCommerce order fulfillment services and freight brokerage. RSL offers national fulfillment services and a network of 15 US fulfillment centers located in Anaheim (CA), Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Miami (FL), Olean (NY), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), and Scranton (PA). Their state-of-the-art technology allows for integration with popular shopping cart platforms and online marketplaces including Amazon, Big Commerce, Channel Advisor, eBay, Magento, ShipStation, Shopify, Volusion, Walmart Marketplace, and WooCommerce.

https://www.rakutensl.com/post/shipping-trends-for-the-upcoming-decade  

weil ich das Umsatzwachstum in den nächsten fünf Jahren höher einschätze als der von Analysten gewählte Durchschnittswert von 13,2%. Er sind zwar die Mobile-User-Zahlen realistisch, aber durch dieses Wachstum fließen dann - wenn auch mit Verzögerung - Umsätze und im E-Commerce hat Japan noch erheblichen Aufholbedarf gegenüber anderen Industriestaaten und auf dem E-Pay-Sektor genauso.

Robust Customer Acquisition on Mobile Benefits Rakuten in the Longer Term; Raise FVE to JPY 1,200

Kazunori Ito Senior Equity Analyst
Mar 4, 2021

After reviewing our earnings forecast, we revise Rakuten’s fair value estimate to JPY 1,200 from JPY 1,100, as we think its ecosystem will be strengthened by the faster-than-expected increase in the number of mobile users. In response to the announcement of cheaper mobile plans by other mobile network operators, or MNOs, Rakuten cut its pricing plan for users who use less than 20GB of data per month. While the price cut on mobile is negative for the short-term profitability of the segment, we believe it will be beneficial to Rakuten’s entire ecosystem in the longer term as the cheaper pricing enables Rakuten to increase the number of MNO subscribers, and the company can encourage new users to try other services in its ecosystem. Despite the intensifying competition on each business, we believe that Rakuten will retain its userbase as the combination of its products such as e-commerce, financial, and mobile services will be convenient for users. Rakuten’s shares have been flat over the past six months being vulnerable to the news flows of the mobile business, and we think they are currently fairly valued.

We raise Rakuten's five-year revenue growth forecast to 13.2% from 10.8% per year mainly owing to the better outlook on e-commerce and mobile businesses. We assume Rakuten’s MNO business subscribers will reach 5 million by the end of 2021, which is raised from 3.6 million in the previous forecast, and as a result, we expect a positive impact on Rakuten's entire ecosystem. The cross-use ratio, proportion of users who have used more than one service over the past 12 months among all active users, improved to 73% in fourth-quarter 2020 from 67.3% in fourth-quarter 2017, which suggests that the majority of Rakuten users enjoy multiple services, creating the stickiness to its ecosystem.

https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xtks/4755/quote  

ASBIS and Rakuten TV start promotional campaigns in retail in Poland

ASBISc Enterprises Plc, a leading distributor of IT products in the growing markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the manufacturer of the Prestigio, Canyon and Perenio brands, has signed a promotional agreement with Rakuten TV, becoming a Distributor to promote Rakuten TV products in selected markets.

This summer Rakuten TV and ASBIS established cooperation to promote Rakuten TV products with such leading retail chains in Poland as: RTV Euro AGD, Media Expert, MediaMarkt.

The message of Rakuten TV promotion in retail in Poland consists in that all consumer devices and home appliances are eligible for special Rakuten TV codes for 2, 5 or 10 films for rent during the period of activation which is up to 1 calendar year.

Rakuten TV is famous for its ability to most quickly deliver a primely released movies from global studios in Full HD and Ultra HD quality, dubbed in Polish language, which allows local people to stay tuned about World's cinema trends and online entertainments.

Rakuten TV is the first Video On-Demand platform in Europe combining TVOD (Transactional video-on-demand), AVOD (Advertising video-on-demand)and SVOD (Subscription video-on-demand)services, providing users auniverse of content just one click away. While Rakuten TV ́s TVOD service provides a true cinematic experience with the latest new releases, the AVOD service offers a range of thematic channels for free, including Movies, Euronews, Kids TV, Viki, Documentaries and Rakuten Stories-a channel embodying Rakuten TV ́s original and exclusive content. On the subscription side, the platform provides the international SVOD service, Starzplay, as a premium content provider of movies and TV series. Rakuten TV is available in 42 European territories and forms part of Rakuten, Inc. one of the worlds’ leading internet services companies, offering a wide variety of services for consumers and businesses, with a focus on e-commerce, fintech and digital content. Rakuten, headquartered in Japan, is also known for its partnership with FC Barcelona, the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, Davis Cup and Spartan Race.

http://www.asbis.com/news/press/...rt-promotional-campaigns-in-retail