Rakuten Mobile partners with NTIA for commercial deployment of Open Radio Units in the U.S.
Rakuten Mobile today announced it will support the commercial deployment of open radio units (RUs) developed by U.S.-based vendors, as part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) project to advance Open RAN development with funding by the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.
Rakuten Mobile has already built a nationwide mobile network based on Open RAN (O-RAN Alliance) specs in Japan. Leveraging this expertise, the company will collaborate with RU vendors selected by NTIA’s project, including Battelle Memorial Institute, Microelectronics Technology, Eridan Communications and Airspan Networks.
Rakuten Mobile will assist these vendors in the verification and integration processes required for the commercial deployment of their open RUs and support proof-of-concept trials in commercial networks. These trials will utilize Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN-compatible distributed units (DUs) and centralized units (CUs).
The Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund aims to support the development of Open RAN, promote competition in the wireless market and strengthen the global supply chain. Each RU vendor will work toward the development and commercial deployment of RUs that comply with international standards, including those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global body that develops technical standards for mobile telecommunications, and the O-RAN specifications established by the O-RAN Alliance, a worldwide community promoting the development of Open RAN specifications.
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Rakuten Mobile’s Benefits:
Despite huge losses, Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said the benefits of the mobile business to Rakuten’s ecosystem are “huge.” Users on the Rakuten mobile network spend almost 50% more on Rakuten’s online shopping mall, with benefits spilling over into its credit card, travel, banking and brokerage operations, the 59-year-old CEO said. The amount of exclusive data Rakuten gathers from its users is “extremely powerful,” Mikitani said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We have no intent to compete against OpenAI or Google. But we will actively build a more vertically integrated, specialized AI.”
It’s been a costly gamble, however. The mobile business has stretched the company’s balance sheet, prompting the online retailer to sell a roughly 15% stake in its profit-churning credit card arm to Mizuho Financial Group Inc. It’s also raised funds by taking its banking business public in 2023.
References:
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2025/0120_01/
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