Rakuten Taps Nokia to Enable ‘zero touch’ operational environment for 4G and 5G

Nokia and Japan’s newest mobile network operator Rakuten Mobile are working together to enable the operator’s implementation of a fully automated operations environment for the 5G era.

Nokia will operate Rakuten Mobile’s virtualized core network to manage total cost of ownership (TCO). The agreement will allow Rakuten Mobile to focus on developing its portfolio of disruptive services and expanding its service footprint, while developing operational maturity and automation capabilities.

Rakuten Mobile is a disruptive new player in the Japanese mobile marketplace with ambitious objectives for the launch of its network and services, simultaneously deploying an innovative cloud-native greenfield LTE network which will rapidly evolve to enable 5G services.

Nokia’s operational support services enable Rakuten Mobile to maintain their focus on growing LTE coverage footprint and 5G service capabilities while ensuring the reliability of launched services.

Nokia is enabling groundbreaking levels of automation in network and service lifecycle management within the Rakuten Mobile cloud environment. This will accelerate the pace of service innovation and deployment while controlling OPEX.

This managed services deal will ensure predictable OPEX costs to minimize financial risk while guaranteeing a secure, best-in-class cloud, incorporating network and IT operations. This will allow Rakuten Mobile to bring new services to market in the fastest possible way while assuring service reliability through a highly reliable telco cloud.

Nokia is supporting over 160 virtual network function instances across two data centers in an industry-leading multivendor cloud environment. As an essential part of Rakuten Mobile’s operations organization, Nokia’s domain expertise and value-add will be incorporated into the core of Rakuten’s business.

Friedrich Trawöger, Head of Operate & Managed Services Unit at Nokia, said: “By managing its telco cloud we can help Rakuten Mobile to focus on its objectives; to launch its mobile LTE network and to rapidly realize its vision as a 5G digital service provider. We support Rakuten Mobile in bringing new services to market quickly by utilizing the latest innovations in automated operations while focusing on the total cost of ownership.”

Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Mobile, Inc., said: “With Nokia supporting the operation of our cloud native network, we can focus on service launch and expansion. Nokia is an integral partner in our network operations, and we look forward to future business opportunities that this partnership brings.”