Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

"As one of the leaders in the Open RAN ecosystem, NEC has shown its capabilities in integrating end-to-end O-RAN solutions. NEC's CoE provides the market a great way to demonstrate O-RAN, using components from different suppliers that conform with the O-RAN specifications," said Allen Yen, Chairman and CEO of MTI. "MTI is excited to be one of the initial partners of NEC's CoE lab, and will continue to supply O-RAN compliant radio units to the market."

"We are confident that our firm partnerships with the industry's best talents will enable us to advance the development of cutting-edge carrier grade ecosystems at full throttle," said Kazuhiko Harasaki, Deputy General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation. "NEC will take leadership in curating pre-validated models and facilitating commercial, multi-vendor Open RAN deployment as a viable alternative 5G network for operators."

www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/...nt-at-its-coe-open/61043630

“Since we first envisioned the launch of Rakuten Mobile two years ago, we have also planned to bring to market our own expertise and technology stack as a unique service that will enable operators around the world to deploy fully cloud-native telco networks of the future,” Amin said in a statement tied to the Innoeye purchase. “With the planned acquisition of Innoeye, we are one step closer to closing the circle in bringing to market a carrier-grade telco cloud product that is as simple as click, purchase, and deploy.”

www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...-plans-bleed-red/2020/05/

Rakuten is one of the owner of Glovo

Uganda becomes the second country in East Africa and Fourth in Africa for Glovo to hold its operations.

Glovo has launched its operations in Kampala, a move that is part of its continued market expansion strategy having entered Africa in 2018 starting with Morocco followed by Kenya now Uganda. The expansion into Uganda will make it the second market in East Africa for the company, and the fourth African country where the firm has established operations.

Glovo is a multi-category on-demand platform that allows users to order anything with a via their smartphone. It is entirely focused on helping customers with their immediate needs in busy cities. Customers can order anything that fits on a motorbike and it will be delivered to them. These include groceries from Carrefour and other partners, restaurant food from KFC, Java House and a wide range of the best local food, and an array of drinks and other products.

pctechmag.com/2020/10/glovo-launches-operations-in-uganda/

"Deliver anything" app Glovo expects to double income in pandemic year

Delivery app expects 100% y/y revenue growth in 2020

Has traded in different product categories since inception

Couriered keys, home-made cakes during pandemic

MADRID, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Spanish start-up Glovo expects revenue to double this year from last as lockdowns boost its quick delivery service of everything from curries to contact lenses, its co-founder Sacha Michaud told Reuters.

Glovo, which clinched “unicorn” status a year ago when a cash injection led by Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala pushed its valuation past $1 billion, delivered groceries and medicines long before the coronavirus pandemic prompted rivals to expand beyond restaurant meals.

in.reuters.com/article/...come-in-pandemic-year-idUSL8N2IG7FX

die Bewertung von Glovo eher bei 5 Milliarden liegen als bei einer Milliarde.

„In its IPO filing, DoorDash reported revenue of $1.92 billion for the first nine months of 2020, up more than three times from the same period a year earlier. The company reported a profit of $23 million for the first time in its history during the second quarter of 2020.“

www.reuters.com/article/doordash-ipo-idUSKBN27T1VP

Market Cap 50.396B
finance.yahoo.com/quote/DASH?p=DASH

in der letzten Zeit allerdings kein besonders gutes Händchen So kam der Verkauf von Pinterest zu früh bzw. bei einem niedrigen Kurs und auch hier bei Glovo hat man, wenn ich mich recht erinnere, seinen Anteil etwas heruntergefahren.

will reduce the losses of Rakuten Mobile

The newcomer is not concerned moves by rivals to lower tariffs, due to pressure from the government, will reduce its price advantage, because the gap is so wide. Its mobile service plan is 71 per cent lower than the competition, he claimed, adding its open network structure enabled it to significantly reduce the required network investment and also lower opex by automating many processes.

CTO Tareq Amin claimed its RAN technology allowed it to improve coverage per site by nearly 30 per cent compared with traditional equipment.

He said its deployment plan is five years ahead of schedule, targeting 80 per cent population coverage in March 2021.

The operator, which launched free mobile service in early April, plans to start charging customers in April 2021.

www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/...th-fresh-fee-cuts

Malaysian based Dahmakan raises US$18mil Series B round

By Digital News Asia February 27, 2020

New investors include Rakuten Capital, White Star Capital, Jafco Asia and GEC-KIP Fund
Claims a unique operating system which makes operations significantly more profitable

www.digitalnewsasia.com/startups/...es-us18mil-series-b-round

6 reasons Rakuten Mobile became the telco to watch in 2020

3 hours ago

When Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani first began calling out Japan’s incumbent mobile companies for their high price plans, few could have predicted how far and how fast the company would come in its pursuit of “democratizing the mobile industry.” But here we are at the tail end of 2020, looking back on a remarkable year of progress. Here are five ways Rakuten Mobile has disrupted the mobile industry in 2020.

A Strong Start

Rakuten means “optimism” in Japanese, and it is a fitting name for a company that is constantly looking to better itself, its employees, partners and society as a whole. The milestones Rakuten Mobile reached in its first year as a mobile network operator highlight Rakuten’s resilience and positive approach to innovation.

rakuten.today/blog/...sons-telco-to-watch-rakuten-mobile.html

Launch Fully Virtualized Cloud-Native Mobile Network

New mobile network brings all the telecommunication provider’s operations to the cloud

December 14, 2020 07:59 AM Eastern Standard Time
NEW YORK & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has helped Rakuten Mobile launch its fully virtualized cloud-native mobile network, from business model design to development and operation.

Accenture also helped design Rakuten Mobile’s Service Experience Center, a customer-centric variation of the traditional network operations center. The Service Experience Center team is managing operations and acquiring new capabilities as Rakuten Mobile’s network evolves.

www.businesswire.com/news/home/...Cloud-Native-Mobile-Network

network - all eSIM-compatible and free of SIM lock restrictions

When Rakuten Mobile announced its service launch in March, the new carrier did so in classic Rakuten Mobile style. Ever the mobile maverick, alongside the disruptive price plan and innovative, future-proof network launch, the introduction of the pint-sized Rakuten Mini bucked industry trends towards larger phones.

As one of the leaders behind the planning and development of Rakuten Mobile devices said, “We want to provide our customers with complete freedom in choosing devices and services. That’s why we are working to create affordable devices with features such as eSIM compatibility. Rakuten Mobile’s smartphones — the Rakuten Mini, Rakuten Hand and Rakuten BIG for example  — are all eSIM-compatible and free of SIM lock restrictions.” (Tadashi Tsukamoto, Device Platforms Department.)
Unsurpringly, the Rakuten Mini — the company’s first mobile device built for the new gen network — was an immediate hit with media and customers alike. Rakuten Mobile enriched its lineup of original devices with the addition of Rakuten Big in September, and the Rakuten Hand and Rakuten WiFi Pocket in November.

rakuten.today/blog/...sons-telco-to-watch-rakuten-mobile.html

BY KOBO • DECEMBER 15, 2020PRODUCTS AND FEATURES

www.kobo.com/blog/...ures-and-fixes-in-kobo-apps-and-ereaders

und der Reduzierung des Anteils bei Glovo jetzt schon der dritte schwer Patzer (es geht bei dem Text um Lyft) bei den Investments in wenigen Monaten:

These shares of Issuer class A common stock ("Common Stock") are held directly by Liberty Holdco Ltd. ("Liberty"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rakuten, Inc. ("Rakuten"), and such shares of Common Stock have been pledged to the Banks (as defined below) pursuant to the Transactions (as defined below). Liberty acquired these shares of Common Stock from Rakuten. 2. On October 21, 2020, Liberty entered into variable prepaid forward sale transactions (the "Transactions") in accordance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with unaffiliated financial institutions (the "Banks") relating to 31,395,679 shares of Common Stock in the aggregate following the completion by the Banks of their initial hedging periods. On the applicable settlement dates scheduled to occur during the third quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, Liberty will be obligated to deliver up to 31,395,679 shares of Common Stock or, at Liberty's election, and subject to satisfaction of certain conditions under the terms of such Transactions, pay cash in lieu of such delivery. In exchange for assuming this obligation, Liberty received a cash payment of $714,337,093.49 shortly following the date of entering into the Transactions. 3. Under the Transactions, on the applicable settlement dates, Liberty will be obligated to deliver to the Banks a number of shares of Common Stock determined as described below (or, under certain circumstances, at Liberty's election, an equivalent amount in cash). If the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock on the related averaging dates (the "Settlement Price") is less than or equal to $22.7527 (the "Floor Price"), Liberty will deliver to the Banks 31,395,679 shares of Common Stock in the aggregate (or, under certain circumstances, at Liberty's election, an equivalent amount in cash). 4. If the Settlement Price is between the Floor Price and $36.9732 (the "Cap Price"), Liberty will deliver to the Banks a number of shares of Common Stock (or, under certain circumstances, at Liberty's election, an equivalent amount in cash) equal to 31,395,679 shares in the aggregate, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the Floor Price and the denominator of which is the Settlement Price. If the Settlement Price is greater than the Cap Price, Liberty will deliver to the Banks the number of shares of Common Stock (or, under certain circumstances, at Liberty's election, an equivalent amount in cash) in the aggregate equal to the product of (i) 31,395,679 shares and (ii) a fraction (a) the numerator of which is the sum of (x) the Floor Price and (y) the Settlement Price minus the Cap Price, and (b) the denominator of which is the Settlement Price.

investor.lyft.com/static-files/...9d60-4cef-b6b1-824b0add7a30

A platform for the world: Rakuten Communications Platform is live

Since Rakuten first unveiled its plan to develop an end-to-end fully-virtualized, cloud-native mobile network, the world has been closely watching to see if the Japanese e-commerce pioneer could succeed not only in a new industry but with a never-before-seen approach. Now that the network is live, the dream has become a reality  — and Rakuten Mobile is getting ready to bring its network architecture to the world through Rakuten Communications Platform, or RCP.

rakuten.today/blog/...sons-telco-to-watch-rakuten-mobile.html

2020 was a year in which concepts of "normal" were completely re-defined. In this time of unprecedented crisis and change, how did "WE" the Rakuten Group respond positively and empower society together?
Let’s look back on a year like no other.

global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/rnn/2020/2011_015/

2020/11/30

Rakuten Card Co., Ltd.
Rakuten Card plant Die Ausgabe von Unternehmensanleihen an Privatpersonen
Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. (Hauptsitz: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President und CEO: Masayuki Hosaka, im Folgenden "Rakuten Card") freut sich, dass rakuten card Co., Ltd. 4. unbesicherte Unternehmensanleihe (mit beschränkter Ranking-Vereinbarung zwischen Unternehmensanleihen) wie folgt ausgegeben wird, hauptsächlich an einzelne Investoren.

Notizen
Spitznamen§Rakuten Cardman Bonds
Gesamtbetrag der Unternehmensanleihen (geplant) 30 Milliarden Yen
Betrag jeder Anleihe 500.000 Yen
  Zeitraum§5 Jahre
Zahlungsbetrag§100 Yen pro 100 Yen jeder Anleihe
Zinssatz (vorläufige Konditionen*) 0,34% bis 0,64%
*Zinssatz wird am 8. Dezember 2020 beschlossen

www.rakuten-card.co.jp/corporate/press_release/20201130/

It’s not just external partners that play a role in supporting the network. Rakuten AirMap, an airspace management company and joint venture with U.S.-based AirMap, is providing Rakuten Mobile with a platform for inspecting base stations with drones. An excellent example of Rakuten Ecosystem synergies, the drone-based inspections allow for safer, quicker and more efficient site inspections.

rakuten.today/blog/...sons-telco-to-watch-rakuten-mobile.html

“Rakuten’s heritage of disruption, software development and delivery excellence enabled it to bring a totally new, radical vision for its Rakuten Mobile network,” said Francesco Venturini, a senior managing director at Accenture who leads its global Communications & Media industry group. “Our approach to this bold project has been to share and amplify Rakuten’s sense of discovery by helping to explore the unknown, making investments in the development of 5G and edge cloud, and bringing together the people, capabilities and assets from across Accenture’s global network to help Rakuten Mobile forge the path forward.”

Today’s announcement comes as the edge cloud is emerging as an interchangeable cloud ecosystem encompassing storage and compute assets located at the edge and interconnected by a scalable, application-aware network that can sense and adapt to changing needs, securely and in real-time. Companies need to innovate even faster with emerging technologies to become leaders of their industries.

aithority.com/it-and-devops/cloud/...d-native-mobile-network/

Satellite firm AST to go public via $1.4 billion SPAC merger
16. DEZEMBER 2020 3:18 PM

(Reuters) - Satellite network company AST & Science said on Wednesday it had agreed to be taken public by blank-check firm New Providence Acquisition Corp in a deal that values the combined firm at $1.4 billion including debt.

The Midland, Texas-based company, also known as AST SpaceMobile, said it plans to launch the world’s first low-earth-orbit, low-latency satellite network to connect directly to a smartphone.

The network will help to fortify a partner mobile operator’s coverage in areas where signals are weak or undergo disruption, with users automatically switching from the land network to the space network.

AST’s investors including mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc, Japan’s Rakuten Inc, American Tower, and Cisneros will increase their equity holding in the company, it said. The combined company expects to raise $462 million in gross proceeds.

de.reuters.com/arti

Fortune chatbots

As a part of its tenth birthday celebrations, Viber is partnering with well-known Sri Lankan companies by giving back to all users who made it all possible. Viber is handing out coupons, special discounts and vouchers for all users who spin the wheel of fortune chatbot. Partners who have teamed-up and offering exciting prizes include Fashion Bug with Rs. 500 off on purchases, Mobitel with 1 GB Free Data offer, Kapruka - 20-30% discounts on selected products, Ustore.lk is offering Rs. 50 - 10,000 worth cash value vouchers along with discount coupons ranging from 15-50% on Unilver products and from Dominos, an offer of three free Garlic Breads. Grab these awesome gifts inside the Viber Wheel of Fortune chatbot.

menafn.com/1101274733/...unication-enriching-Sri-Lankan-lives

Space company NanoAvionics invests and expands in the UK

The official opening of NanoAvionics’ new facility will take place on November 19, 2020, with an online event including a presentation about the company and its plans in the country.

NanoAvionics, a nanosatellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator, is expanding its space sector business in the United Kingdom by moving to a new, larger facility for satellite assembly, integration and testing (AIT) as well as sales, technical support and R&D activities in Basingstoke this month. Having already developed a hub in Lithuania and two in the USA, the move, entirely financed by NanoAvionics, is the first step for its UK growth plans by creating jobs in the space sector and a local technology cluster with a dedicated supply chain of companies in Britain. The new facility will allow NanoAvionics to keep thriving and provide nanosatellite AIT services to its growing and existing customer base in the UK. NanoAvionics’ customers in the UK include IoT connectivity provider Lacuna Space and Sen, a space company developing its “EarthTV” constellation to stream real-time and timely Ultra-High Definition (UHD) videos of Earth.

satelliteprome.com/news/...ics-invests-and-expands-in-the-uk/

Und ganz generell haben Investoren bei bestehenden Unternehmen Probleme, wenn diese nach Milliardengewinnen in vorangegangenen Perioden die Anleger überzeugen wollen, dass sie jetzt einmal für eine gewisse Zeit Verluste machen werden, weil sie gigantische Investitionen zu stemmen gedenken. Ohne massive Ankeraktionäre, die es bei Rakuten gibt, kann sich dies normalerweise keine Aktiengesellschaft erlauben. Seltsamerweise wird so etwas bei Start-Ups mit sehr viel unsicherer Grundlage problemlos akzeptiert und Verluste, die oft höher sind als die Umsätze, werden weggesteckt. Wenn Rakuten Mobile schwarze Zahlen oder weniger hohe rote Zahlen schreiben wird, wird sich daher auch bei der Nachfrage nach Rakuten-Aktien m.E. einiges ändern - sodass, was ich immer betont habe, nur geduldige Anleger einsteigen sollten, was nicht ausschließt, dass Zocker zwischendurch auch immer wieder Schnäppchen machen können.

Und wenn das alles nichts helfen sollte, bleibt immer noch die Möglichkeit, dass man nach Abschluss von Phasen intensiver Investitionen aus dem dann fließenden Cash Flow eigene Aktien zurückkauft, was Rakuten in der Vergangenheit, als die Investitionen nicht derart hoch waren wie heute, immer wieder gemacht hat.

What is E-POP UP STORE?

The “E-POP UP STORE” is a special EC site of RakutenFWT, available until the end of December 2020, in which you can purchase the items of 12 brands, mainly of those brands that were scheduled to participate in “Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2020 A/W”, cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19

Rakuten, Inc. Executive Officer, E-Commerce Company, Vice President Mr. Ryo Matsumura: “I am happy and proud this special EC shop of ‘Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO’ will be opened within ‘Rakuten Fashion’. In this site, through supporting the growth of young brands and introducing young, spirited domestic brands, we hope to contribute to the expansion of fashion culture in Japan, while providing a more exciting and fun-filled fashion shopping experience to users.”

Japan Fashion Week Organization Director Kaoru Imajo: “Despite the difficulties of current situations, I am looking forward to working with the title sponsor, Rakuten, Inc., in this project to support the Japanese fashion industry. Furthermore, I am happy and excited that thanks to their help, we will be able to transmit the creations of Japanese designers to markets which could not be reached by JFW alone.”

rakutenfashionweektokyo.com/en/e-pop-up-store/

ebook sales in the US were up 20.4% in October

14 Dec 2020
Digital book revenues were up 20.4% for the month as compared to October 2019, for a total of $96.9 million. On a year-to-date basis, ebook sales were up 16.5%, generating $956.3 million for the first ten months of 2020. Ebooks accounted for 10% of all trade sales in October.

about.ebooks.com/ebook-industry-news-feed/

Ebooks and Audiobooks Usage In Schools Exploded in 2020

04 Dec 2020

38,000 schools in 71 countries saw an 80% increase over the last year with the usage of ebooks and audiobooks

about.ebooks.com/ebook-industry-news-feed/