Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Thanks to its operational cost advantage, Rakuten Mobile is able to provide its customers with very attractive tariffs. “I think this is going to be widely adopted inside of Japan,” Davidson predicts. “This is just the beginning. Now we need to get to 5G and we need to scale the infrastructure.” As it deploys 5G, Rakuten Mobile could further extend its cost advantage over legacy networks.

As well as supplying the IP (internet protocol) routers that transport traffic from Rakuten’s minimalist radio towers and the cloud radio access network (RAN) into the IP core, Cisco is also providing the management orchestration software for the virtual cloud native functions and software required to support third party applications. “Cisco is playing a crucial role in stitching together the various elements of our new network,” says Rakuten Mobile CTO Tareq Amin. “The design approach we mapped out with Cisco is enabling us to deliver high-value services at very affordable prices, enabling our customers to really benefit from our cloud innovation. Scaling of such orchestration function is a challenge.”

As Rakuten Mobile’s software-defined architecture enables it to fine-tune its network in real-time, Davidson expects the network to perform at a very high level, bringing reliability and throughput benefits to customers.  As the performance, technical and operations advantages become increasingly apparent, Cisco expects other operators to follow in Rakuten Mobile’s footsteps and deploy cloud-based radio access networks underpinned by open specifications, rather than vendors’ proprietary hardware and software.

rakuten.today/blog/rakuten-mobile-partner-profile-cisco.html

NEWS  JUNE 23, 2020

By Viber Team

www.viber.com/en/blog/2020-06-23/...ssages-for-extra-privacy/

Viber cuts business ties with Facebook
Published: June 26, 2020 18:02:43 | Updated: June 28, 2020 21:36:10

Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading messaging apps for free and secure communication, has cut all business ties with social media giant Facebook aiming to protect its one billion users.

The messaging app will remove Facebook Connect, Facebook SDK, and GIPHY, as well as cease all advertisement spending on the social networking platform, said a press release.

Amid the protests that broke out all over the US over the past few weeks, a group of six organisations, including the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP, called on Facebook advertisers to pause their spending on the social networking site during the month of July over the company’s inability to protect users from hate speech, reports UNB.

Djamel Agaoua, CEO, Viber, said, “From Facebook’s mishandling of data and lack of privacy in its apps to its outrageous stand of avoiding the steps necessary to protect the public from violent and dangerous rhetoric, Facebook has gone too far. We are not the arbiters of truth, but the truth is some people are suffering from the proliferation of violent content, and companies must take a clear stand.”

thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/...-with-facebook-1593172963

Telefónica said it will launch 4G and 5G Open RAN trials in UK, Germany, Spain and Brazil this year

Spanish operator group Telefónica has announced the creation of a new consortium of companies aiming to accelerate Open RAN development.

Altiostar, Gigatera Communications, Intel, Supermicro and Xilinx are all mucking in to assist in the development and deployment of Open RAN in 4G and 5G. In announcing the new collective effort Telefónica said it will launch 4G and 5G Open RAN trials in UK, Germany, Spain and Brazil this year, which is refreshing optimistic considering the world has ground to a halt.

Here’s what the Telefónica announcement had to say about the specifics: “The collaboration focuses on the appropriate Distributed Units that implement part of the baseband radio functions using the FlexRAN software reference platform and Intel Xeon processor based servers, appropriate Remote Radio Units connected through open interfaces based on O-RAN fronthaul specification, and suitable software that manages the connectivity in an open Cloud RAN architecture.”

“Once again, Telefónica is leading the transformation towards having the best-in-class networks in our operations with our customers as key pillars,” said Enrique Blanco, Telefónica CTIO. “Open RAN is a fundamental piece for that purpose while widening the ecosystem.”

“Telefónica is known for its leading-edge network and has been championing open vRAN implementations to bring greater network service agility and flexibility,” said Pierre Kahhale, Altiostar VP of Field Operations. “By bringing together the best-of-breed innovation, Telefonica is looking to achieve this vision into their network. We look forward to supporting this transformation of Telefonica’s network.”

telecoms.com/503165/...ll-launch-5g-open-ran-trial-this-year/

Romanian electro-IT retailer teams up with Glovo delivery platform

Romanian electro-IT online retailer evoMAG announced that it entered a partnership with the app-based delivery platform Glovo, one of the leading fast delivery services in Romania.
The retailer's customers can thus receive the products ordered in less than an hour, without having to visit the showroom.

EvoMAG says it is the first IT&C retailer to include Glovo as a product delivery solution. By accessing the application, customers in Bucharest can order thousands of products sold by evoMAG, with an individual value of up to RON 350 (EUR 70).

"Through the partnership with Glovo, we offer customers the fastest delivery solution for ordered products currently available on the market," said evoMAG CEO Mihai Patrascu.

www.romania-insider.com/evomag-glovo-partnership-2020

How To Leverage Rakuten Advertising’s Financial Dashboard to Manage and Grow Your Affiliate Program
By Alex Comiskey | June 17, 2020

Financial issuers must stay on top of performance trends so they can optimize their affiliate campaigns and expand their business. Having the right tools to view which partners are growing, where conversion is strongest, and what trends are emerging over time ensures that every dollar in the affiliate channel is maximized.

Rakuten Advertising’s Financial Dashboard makes it easy to see performance and trends by providing interactive visualizations of affiliate campaigns so brands can take the next right action as quickly as possible.

What Can the Financial Dashboard Do?

At its core, the Financial Dashboard is designed to be a problem-solving tool for financial advertisers that quickly tells them whether their campaigns are delivering on program KPIs and where improvements can be made.

By leveraging the Financial Dashboard, financial advertisers can:
• Evaluate affiliate program performance in real time.
• View full-funnel product-level data to understand which publishers are driving interest and conversions against specific products.
• Uncover trends over time across key KPIs including clicks, applications, accounts and approvals.

blog.rakutenadvertising.com/insights/...-affiliate-program-2/

Happy in what we have achieved in terms of customer acquisition

TECHNOLOGY NEWS
JUNE 26, 2020 / 10:44 AM / 3 DAYS AGO

The test case is Rakuten’s home market, where it has suffered repeated delays to the roll-out of its, currently 4G, service and must win over consumers used to world-beating network stability.

“We are really happy in what we have achieved in terms of customer acquisition,” Amin said, declining to provide user numbers.

in.reuters.com/article/rakuten-mobile-idINKBN23X158

Each year we conduct the biggest research survey in the performance marketing industry in order to identify the best CPS Affiliate Networks (Cost-Per-Sale). The responses are then aggregated with input from the Blue Ribbon Panel of industry experts and mThink’s own research. The result is the Blue Book Top 20 Affiliate Networks, as chosen by the advertisers and publishers of the world-wide performance marketing community. These are the industry leaders that provide the levels of customer service, professionalism and consistent ROI that is the mark of a top network. They have also learned to survive and thrive in an ever-changing and incredibly competitive environment, so they are without exception run by smart, effective leaders.


The BLUE BOOK Top 20 is not a simple list of the biggest networks. Instead, it takes into account reputation, influence, clientele, popularity and scale.

An important part of the ranking process is our survey of over 25,000 industry figures that is carried out during the Fall. In the survey, we ask an open-field first question to identify the respondent’s favorite networks for running CPA and affiliate campaigns. The open-field nature of this first question is designed to avoid any selection-bias caused by prompting or by which networks we include in a pick-list. On a subsequent screen we provide a list of almost 50 networks from which respondents are asked to choose an additional four networks in each of the CPA and affiliate network categories, together with an additional open-field for write-in choices. In all, some 400 networks are included in our considerations.

mthink.com/best-cps-affiliate-networks/

4 days ago

Meanwhile, Japan’s travel industry — one of the hardest hit by the pandemic — is also facing a conundrum. As borders remain closed and much of the nation remains hesitant to travel, accommodation facilities across the country are largely unoccupied and eerily quiet.

Enter Rakuten STAY. This handy service allows property owners to put their own rooms on the market without the hassle of managing branding and promotions or trying to solo-navigate Japan’s stringent private lodging regulations.

Standard-fitted with living features such as free Wi-Fi, a full kitchen and washing machine, the properties are geared towards longer stays. But following a sudden mass exodus from Tokyo’s offices, Rakuten STAY properties have found an entirely new purpose: Teleworking.

The service is trialing affordable packages of up to 30 nights at properties in 18 locations around Japan. Social distancing protocol is being followed to the letter, with virtual check-in/out and an electronic key system, while room facilities are regularly disinfected.

Demand for these temporary remote offices has so far been strong: Despite declining travel trends around the world, initial offerings of the Rakuten STAY packages nearly sold out — and it isn’t hard to see why.

rakuten.today/blog/...stay-work-from-home-away-from-home.html

from new Singapore HQ

By Joe Devanesan | 7 July, 2020

• Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest [virtual] telco, officially opens its international HQ in Singapore
• The new digs will be the base of the company’s cloud-native mobile communications platform

Rakuten Mobile, the mobility and wireless networking subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, has officially established its new global headquarters in Singapore.

The new international headquarters will serve as the central hub from which the company will unveil its fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile communications platform, the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), to overseas markets beyond its native Japan.

CTO Tareq Amin commented on the Singapore HQ launch and the status of the RCP: “We are developing the Rakuten Communications Platform offering to be made available to telecom companies, government organizations and other enterprise customers around the world. RCP offers a speedy and cost-efficient deployment of fully virtualized cloud-native network services and I’m very excited to welcome Rabih Dabboussi onboard as Rakuten Mobile’s global head of sales and marketing to lead our global expansion.”

techwireasia.com/2020/07/...-go-global-from-new-singapore-hq/

Marketing That Influences the Consumer & Drives Conversion

Deliver experiences that your consumers love. According to findings from our 2017 Consumer Sentiments Survey of 2500 global consumers:

         •§80% of global consumers seek out coupon codes before making a purchase.
         •§57% of U.S. consumers actively follow an online blogger or social influencer.
         •§71% of them frequently buy items a blogger or influencer recommends.

rakutenadvertising.com/...ce-marketing/affiliate/advertisers/

Here are the best investment apps in July:

         •§Acorns – Best for worry-free savings
         •§Robinhood – Best for fee-free trading
         •§Wealthbase – Best for social experience
         •§Betterment – Best for low cost
         •§Stockpile – Best for gifting stocks
         •§Invstr – Best for learning about investing

Overview: Top investment apps in 2020

Acorns: Best for worry-free savings

Acorns is one of the older of the new breed of finance apps, but it remains one of the most popular, because of how easy it is to use. You really don’t have to pay much attention once you’ve set up the app. Link a debit or credit card to your account, and Acorns will round up the total on purchases to the next dollar and invest that difference into one of a few ETF portfolios.

The cost is a modest $1 per month for Acorns Invest, though the company offers other features. If you want to take a step up, you can move to Acorns Later, which is bundled with Acorns Invest, for an additional $1 per month. Acorns Later is the company’s version of an individual retirement account (IRA), and you’ll be able to open one of three versions: the traditional, Roth or a SEP.

You can even roll over an existing 401(k) or IRA to Acorns Later. Acorns chooses your portfolio based on the targeted time until your retirement (calculated as age 59 ½), becoming more conservative as your near that age.

And for an additional $1 per month, you can add Acorns Spend, which provides a FDIC-protected checking account with a debit card, among other things.

Why you want this app: You like getting automatic savings while you’re spending without worrying about it. You like retirement investing without the hassle.

www.bankrate.com/investing/best-investment-apps/

Nach eigenen Angaben nutzen über 2.500 Partner im E-Commerce Produkte von Simplesurance, darunter die Smartphone-Hersteller OnePlus und Huawei. Robin von Hein und Joachim von Bonin haben Simplesurance im Jahr 2012 mitgegründet.

Mit dem Sprung nach Japan übernimmt Simplesurance nun eine Vorreiterrolle unter den deutschen Insurtechs. Im Insurtech Radar 2019, einer Studie von Oliver Wyman und Policendirekt, heißt es, dass fast alle Versicherungs-Start-ups in Deutschland noch auf den Heimatmarkt fokussiert seien oder Geschäftsmodelle hätten, die sich nur schwer auf andere Versicherungsmärkte übertragen lassen.
Bisher hätten sich nur einige wenige Start-ups punktuell in andere europäische Märkte gewagt. „Das einzig wirklich international tätige deutsche Insurtech ist Simplesurance“, lautet das Fazit der Autoren. Gründer Robin von Hein wird das nicht ungern hören.

www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/...167-bDVOXTQ19NCfoBahhVfZ-ap3

6 July 2020
Dish adds Fujitsu and Altiostar to its 5G supplier roster

By Caroline Gabriel

Dish Network has announced two further suppliers for its forthcoming 5G network in the USA, Altiostar and Fujitsu. The satellite TV provider has pledged to emulate Rakuten Mobile’s cloud-native, multivendor network based on open interfaces, and indeed, it is clearly adopting a similar approach. It will deploy a disaggregated network supporting open specs such as O-RAN, and with different suppliers for hardware and software (and potentially multiple virtual network function suppliers per domain). However, despite the architectural similarities, it is not selecting all the same vendors. Altiostar is Rakuten’s 4G and 5G RAN VNF provider, but in Dish’s case, it will share the RAN software glory with Mavenir, already selected in April for its open RAN software.

rethinkresearch.biz/articles/...ar-to-its-5g-supplier-roster/

Rakuten Medical closes deal with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to receive cetuximab for production of Rakuten Medical's ASP-1929 antibody-drug conjugate

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Medical, Inc. (Rakuten Medical) announced they have entered a multi-year deal with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany under which Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will provide cetuximab to Rakuten Medical for its ASP-1929 program. Rakuten Medical uses cetuximab in an intermediate form as the antibody component in its product candidate ASP-1929, an investigational antibody-dye conjugate being studied for the treatment of recurrent, locoregional head and neck cancers. Under this agreement, Rakuten Medical may use cetuximab to produce ASP-1929 for clinical trials and commercial sales.

Earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rakuten Medical and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany memorialized their intent to join forces to explore ways to help patients conquer cancer. "Rakuten Medical is excited to partner with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company," said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Medical. "Rakuten Medical is committed to partnering with world class companies such as Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in order to carry forward its mission to conquer cancer."

Rakuten Medical's ASP-1929 combines cetuximab and a light activatable dye, IRDye® 700DX. Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody, targets and binds specifically to the epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR), which are overexpressed in several cancers. After binding to EGFR-expressing cancer cells, ASP-1929 is locally activated by non-thermal red light (690 nm) illumination emitted by an investigational laser device system. Pre-clinical data indicate that illumination of ASP-1929 induces a biophysical process that compromises cell membrane integrity, leading to cancer cell death and tumor necrosis.

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...-conjugate-301089131.html

weniger mit Trump verbunden sehe (denn das will jeder US-Präsident - wenn auch nicht in dieser Ausprägung) und auch weniger als eine Anti-Huawei-Strategy, sondern als eine technologische Disruption.

www.politico.com/news/2020/07/07/...ti-huawei-strategy-348745

in weniger als 3 Monaten in Corona-Zeiten ohne Offline-Verkauf und dem Sicherheitsdenken in Sachen Neuerung in Krisenzeiten sind meines Erachtens ein Erfolg.

More than a million Japanese consumers have applied for Rakuten's mobile service plans since its April launch, the company announced this week. Amin touts that it offers unlimited data usage and more competitive rates compared with the country's telecom incumbents. Rakuten’s mobile plan comes to under $30 a month, although New Street Research analysts in March said the pricing is less aggressive than industry observers had expected. (Costs for data roaming and global calls undercut that price point, New Street said at the time).

Quelle: siehe letztes Posting

By Rhiannon Farrar | June 30, 2020 | MARKETING STRATEGIES

Founded in 2004, Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolatier and a unique type of chocolate company that connects luxury chocolate making and retailing with cocoa growing – it is one of the world’s few chocolate makers to grow their own cocoa. The brand currently has over 80 stores in the UK as well as a thriving online business supported by Rakuten Advertising’s affiliate and display network.

Hotel Chocolat wanted to drive brand awareness of their newest product, the Velvetiser an in-home hot chocolate system. The brand utilised Rakuten Advertising’s display services to support the product launch and drive awareness and sales.

Strategies

Product: Prospecting
Rakuten Advertising used first and third-party audience data to reach potential customers that were passionate about chocolate.

Product: Retargeting
Retargeting campaigns were deployed to target customers that visited the website to drive conversions.

Results

Two weeks after launch, the Hotel Chocolat ads improved the performance of the core metrics with Cost-Per-Click (CPC) decreasing and Return-On-Ad-Spend (ROAS) increasing.

Overall, the campaign drove over 15,00 visits to site, 95% of which our attribution platform confirmed were new users. Of the 10 million impressions delivered, and 318K engagements generated, our strategies drove over 1.7K in orders, resulting in a blended ROAS of £2.22. Further result include:

• Post-Impression, Post-Engagement, Post-Click ROAS was £2.22
o Prospecting – £0.72
o Retargeting – £41
• ROAS increased by 24% after proposing landing page optimisations
• Rakuten Advertising’s insights and attribution platform revealed that 95% of visits from the display channel were from new users higher than Hotel Chocolat’s other online channels.

With our optimisations, we were able to increase the prospecting CTR by 269% and the retargeting ROAS by 66%, when comparing the first four weeks to the last four weeks.

blog.rakutenadvertising.com/en-uk/...ss-story-hotel-chocolat/

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The profitability for Rakuten‘s core business is doing well

„ If you look at the non-GAAP operating income, against ¥16.1 billion in Q1 2019, it was ¥24.3 billion in Q1 2020. So the profitability for our core business is doing well.“

finanz.dk/...ani-on-q1-2020-results-earnings-call-transcript/

¥24.3 billion in Q1 are $ 226 million or extrapolated $ 904 million in the year.

Zugriffe: 509.122

www.altiostar.com/news-coverage/

Open RAN Vision

Matt Kapko | EditorMay 4, 2020 9:58 PM

www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...-open-ran-vision/2020/05/

the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006660550

Fakt ist : Entgegen vielen Unkenrufen funktioniert das System und das Konzept. Und dass bei der Etablierung Verluste anfallen ist auch klar. Aber bei fast einer Milliarde non-GAAP operating income (siehe 5345) kann man so etwas verkraften.

for Rakuten Mobile and iPhone!

Free unlimited calls are possible | AppBank
2020/07/08 19:00

"Rakuten Link" is a communication app for Rakuten mobile users only, where you can use free calls, free messages, and group chats for up to 100 people.

By installing "Rakuten Link", you will be able to use unlimited free calls from your "iPhone".

japan.topnews.cloud/...-unlimited-calls-are-possible-appbank/