Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

New and Notable Publishers on the Rakuten Advertising Network December 2020
By Rakuten Advertising | December 10, 2020 | INSIGHTS

Christmas is just days away.
The good news? We’ve got some early presents for you to unwrap! Meet our New and Notable Publishers for December.

CouponFollow (SID 585351): CouponFollow sources the best coupons and deals for thousands of sites around the world. It claims that its cashback product, Cently, has helped consumers save millions.

KO Media (SID: 3328066, 3795777, 3795779): KO Media is a publisher that produces a variety of fashion-forward magazines.

Mocha Global (SID 3629554): As an artificial intelligence -powered recommendation engine for mobile, Mocha provides incremental revenue as well as increased marketshare for Fortune 500 direct brands and agencies. Mocha partners with browsers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), apps, and telcos to capture high intent consumer searches happening outside of Google/Yahoo/Bing.

blog.rakutenadvertising.com/insights/...etwork-december-2020/

KKR & Rakuten Ignite Online Food Battle with Seiyu Purchase

17 Dec 2020 17:50

Walmart’s 18-year attempt to build a business in Japan ended last month when the US retailer announced it would sell 85% of its stake in Seiyu to KKR and Rakuten.

Seiyu has been transformed under Walmart’s leadership although it is much smaller than when Walmart arrived.

Now, with KKR & Co Inc (KKR US) and Rakuten Inc (4755 JP) taking over, the hope is Seiyu could re-emerge as a leader in food e-commerce under Rakuten.

The Seiyu chain could transform Rakuten’s logistics capability, allowing it to offer a comprehensive click & collect service as well as use redundant store space for dark store fulfilment.

What the new partners cannot afford to do is dither. Japan may well have room for more than one major online food retailer but just a couple of leaders will command the lion’s share.

www.smartkarma.com/insights/...ood-battle-with-seiyu-purchase

Remember: Rakuten and Vodafone Invest in AST & Science’s mobile broadband network for smartphones

March 4, 2020

Rakuten and Vodafone have become the lead investors in a venture to extend mobile coverage to more people and devices across the planet, using the first mobile broadband network that will be broadcast from space.

Branded SpaceMobile, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network from AST & S The new investment brings the total capital raised by AST & Science to US$128 million, including the early investments from Cisneros and founder Abel Avellan. Barclays served as financial advisor to the company. Other investors include: American Tower; Cisneros; Samsung NEXT; and founder Abel Avellan. The new investment brings the total capital raised by AST & Science to US$128 million.cience will be the first in the world to connect directly to standard smartphones.

www.spacetechasia.com/...e-broadband-network-for-smartphones/

Vodacom to beam 4G and 5G mobile broadband from space

The development comes after SpaceMobile secured the necessary funding for the first phase of the project.

By Duncan McLeod 17 Dec 2020 13:06

Vodacom Group parent, the UK-headquartered Vodafone Group, has reached an agreement with AST SpaceMobile to launch the first phase of a space-based commercial mobile communications service in 2023.

The project’s goal is to “transform mobile network coverage” for the 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions of Earth, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania in Africa — all markets in which Vodacom operates.

The development comes after SpaceMobile secured the necessary funding for the first phase of the project.

No special equipment

“AST SpaceMobile is uniquely positioned to provide universal mobile coverage to rural areas in Africa and, in the future, Europe,” Vodafone said in a statement. “AST SpaceMobile will be the first service of its kind to connect standard mobile phones at 4G and 5G speeds using AST SpaceMobile’s patented space-based network.”

According to Vodafone, more than five billion mobile subscribers move in and out of wireless coverage on a regular basis. The SpaceMobile solution will fill these coverage gaps, it said.

www.moneyweb.co.za/news/tech/...-mobile-broadband-from-space/

ist:

5G data is gold - network providers should have the freedom to tailor it to their needs without having to rely on large infrastructure vendors

More than half of these networks (58%) are already migrating to 5G SA this year. What some may find surprising is that in large part, they are starting their SBA migration with data management. Why? That’s because data is the new gold and forward-looking operators recognize this. Given how valuable this data is, operators face competition in the shape of hyperscalers such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft who want a large piece of that pie.

The Silicon Valley behemoths are looking to take hold of the data at the edge and monetize it – leaving operators out in the cold. What’s more, it is important for operators to own and control their own data schemas. In this way, network providers will have the freedom to tailor it to their needs without having to rely on large infrastructure vendors – as was the case with 4G. That is why data management functions are incredibly valuable for 5G operators going forward.

With an open, cloud-native network layer that shares user data across the entire network, challenges traditionally associated with data siloes disappear. This allows operators to bridge all the data from various 5G use cases such as IoT to connected cars and secure new revenue streams.

www.lightcounting.com/...on-mistakes-operators-are-making-5g/

ecoystem of NEC, but NEC and Altiostar can too be part of Rakuten RCP-ecosystem in another constellation

The report’s executive summary said: “The single largest new market opportunity in Open RAN will be systems integration. We expect this to comprise around 30% of multi-vendor Open RAN spend. More than any other part of the market, this is likely to see the greatest competition: not only between established equipment vendors with services arms, but also software integrators, as well as operators themselves reselling their own experiences as proven blueprints.”

Haysom name-checked companies such as IBM-RedHat and VMWare, “delivering a complete solution from a best of breed blueprint”.

News released today from Telefonica O2 Germany could be used as an example. Here NEC is acting as a System Integrator for an Open RAN Pilot that also includes ADVA, Altiostar, GigaTera Communications, Intel, Red Hat, Supermicro and Xilinx.

The O2 news also illustrates another point that Haysom makes. The trajectory is towards Open RAN, but things are not going to happen quickly. The O2 Germany pilot is for just three live sites, initially, with any further rollout not planned until 3Q 2021. Deutsche Telekom has said that its principle 2021 Open RAN pilot will be of 25 sites. We are still in the early days of tecnology adoption.

the-mobile-network.com/2020/12/...ution-will-not-be-atomised/

UNICEF partnership with Rakuten Viber set to amplify voices of young people in Myanmar
11 December 2020

UNICEF’s youth community participation platform, U-Report, partners with popular calling and messaging app, Rakuten Viber, to mobilize and engage young people in Myanmar

YANGON, 11 December 2020 – Today, U-Report Myanmar signed a partnership agreement with Viber that will further boost the ability of young people to make their voices heard on the issues that affect them. U-Report Myanmar is a community participation tool that uses social media to enable young people to express their opinions and advocate for positive change in their communities and among their friends.

Through the partnership with Viber, users of the popular calling and messaging app will be able to join U-Report, where they will also be able to engage with free U-Report Viber stickers featuring fun characters and inspirational messages.

UNICEF launched U-Report in Myanmar in 2016 as a youth-led, free platform designed to empower adolescents, young people and communities to speak out on the issues that matter to them, promoting citizen-led development and positive social change.

www.unicef.org/myanmar/press-releases/...young-people-myanmar

eSewa and Rakuten Viber inks landmark deal in Nepal; Customers can now top-up talk time and send money through Viber with 10% cashback

Thu, Dec 17, 2020 7:10 AM

Nepal's first and leading payment service provider eSewa and leading messaging app, Rakuten Viber have joined hands. Customers can now top-up talk time and send money to contact numbers through Viber.

With this partnership, Viber users in Nepal can seamlessly link their eSewa Account to top up talk time as well as send money to other users from within the Viber App. This partnership is the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific Region and eSewa becomes only the third company to partner with Viber for Payment Services after Apple and Google. This feature is available to all the Viber Users in Nepal.

With this collaboration as an introductory offer, users will enjoy a 10 percent or maximum NRs.100 cashback on recharge and five percent or maximum NRs 50 on Fund transfer. Besides that, on weekly basis, customers will get a chance to win attractive gifts/vouchers and as a bumper price, one lucky customer will win a laptop.

"This is a breakthrough in digital payments in Nepal and it will bring a new dimension to digital payments in Nepal," said Roshan Lamichhane, Chief Operating Officer, eSewa. “We will continue to innovate and make financial transactions simple, secure, and affordable.”

Similarly, Anna Znamenskayaof Rakuten, Chief Growth Officer, Rakuten Viber said, “We have always envisioned Viber to be a lifetime app that is of maximum benefit to its users. One of the ways to make this happen is to ensure that our users have access to a secure alternative platform to make their financial transactions such as top-ups and fund transfer as convenient as possible. She added, “We are excited seeing this happen through our partnership with Nepal’s first and the largest online payment gateway, eSewa.”

www.sharesansar.com/newsdetail/...with-10-cashback-2020-12-17

Vodafone-backed AST SpaceMobile is preparing to launch a space-based mobile network targeting 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions, including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania – from 2023.

These markets are served by Vodafone affiliates Safaricom and Vodacom.

The AST SpaceMobile project launched in March is backed by Vodafone and Rakuten.

AST SpaceMobile will be the first service of its kind to connect standard mobile phones at 4G and 5G speeds using AST SpaceMobile’s patented space-based network.

The first tranche of AST SpaceMobile’s launch plans will involve the use of 20 satellites to offer seamless, low-latency mobile connectivity that can be accessed by approximately 1.6 billion people across a vast geographical region, said Vodafone in a statement.

Subject to regulatory approval in each market, these will include DRC; Ghana; Mozambique; Kenya; and Tanzania. AST SpaceMobile will also apply for regulatory approval to launch the service in India.

www.techfinancials.co.za/2020/12/17/...ile-network-in-africa/

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Sie können nur einen Preis erhalten, indem Sie das Team für ein personalisiertes Angebot kontaktieren. Der Preis hängt unter anderem von Ihrem Bestellvolumen und der Größe Ihres Unternehmens ab.

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Zuverlässige und funktionsreiche Technologie
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Ideal für komplexe Lieferungen
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Die Preise können je nach Unternehmen hoch sein
Ein bisschen eine altmodische Schnittstelle.

Am besten für: Rakuten Super Logistics ist ein exzellenter Service für diejenigen, die mit fortschrittlicheren Analysen und Dienstleistungen hinter die Kulissen ihrer Logistikstrategie kommen wollen. Die 100%ige Genauigkeit bedeutet, dass Sie den exzellenten Kundenservice bieten können, den Ihr Publikum erwartet. Zusätzlich gibt es eine 1-Tages-Bestellabwicklungsoption.

ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/...rder-fulfilment-companies

Matt Kapko | EditorDecember 14, 2020 9:44 PM

Azita Arvani knows how difficult it is to make open radio access networks (RAN) work properly, but she believes those challenges can be overcome by those that fully embrace the vision.

The GM of Rakuten Mobile Americas was working at Nokia when Rakuten decided to become a mobile network operator in Japan and it worked with Nokia to integrate its remote radio heads with services from Altiostar and other vendors for its 4G LTE network that launched in April 2020.

“We all know that’s the future. It’s like how far are we going to push ourselves in that direction?” she told SDxCentral in a recent phone interview. The intellectual property and technical expertise that Rakuten has developed since 2018 is now being sold as a customizable platform, Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), that other operators can turn to for their open RAN planning, deployment, and management requirements.

The operator is targeting three categories of prospective customers — mobile operators, enterprises interested in private networks, and governments — but it doesn’t have any customers announced to date, said Arvani, who leads the RCP effort in the Americas.

www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...pen-ran-platform/2020/12/

Rakuten Mehrheitseigner ist und die auch Bestandteil der Plattform sind, schon dick im Geschäft sind - und zwar nicht nur mit Rakuten Mobile.

Challenge
Rakuten offers services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.4 billion members worldwide, with operations in 30 countries and regions.
The telecoms industry has long been challenged to innovate at speed and scale. Industry disruption and convergence confront operators with the need to find a new approach to meet growing consumer expectations and modern enterprises’ demands for agility and innovation. The explosion of connected devices and data that the move to 5G generates also requires a completely different mode of operation. It’s the difference between servicing a customer base of 20 or 30 million users to a network supporting 500 million devices or more.
Rakuten Mobile understood these industry headwinds and wanted to find a new way to sail through them by building a world-first1: a fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network that creates a whole new vocabulary for communications networks – and the industry.

What Accenture did
Rakuten is a global innovation company with a heritage of disruption, software development and delivery excellence. This heritage guided the creation of the Rakuten Mobile network. But to help bring this vision to life, Rakuten Mobile needed a partner that was able to marry technology leadership with proven experience and business insight to operationalize its new virtualized network.
Accenture collaborated with Rakuten Mobile as an operational enablement partner, designing and implementing multiple aspects of an innovative new cloud-native operating model. The aim was clear: enable the organization’s speed and agility requirements to completely disrupt the communications industry.

www.accenture.com/us-en/case-studies/...-media/rakuten-mobile

Dr. Ashiq Khan Head of Rakuten Cloud Platform Rakuten Mobile, Inc.
Prakash Suthar Distinguished Engineer Cisco Systems, Inc.

Rakuten, Inc.: an overview

RAKUTEN CLOUD PLATFORM (RCP)

Virtualized RAN (vRAN)

Mobile Core and distributed Telco Cloud

SDN based IPv6 transport network

Operation system (OSS) from scratch: RNOS

Testing and validation: CI/CD

www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/us/...pdf/BRKSPM-2950.pdf

Rakuten is the clear biggest owner of Cabify with a big distance to all other

Which Cabify categories are available in my city?

Find your city and hit the link. You'll be taken to a page that shows the prices for each vehicle category available in that city.

Country City Link

Spain
Madrid Click here
Málaga Click here
Marbella Click here
Murcia Click here
Barcelona Click here
Sevilla Click here
Alicante Click here
Valencia Click here
Santander Click here
La Coruña Click here
Zaragoza Click here


Argentina
Buenos Aires Click here
Rosario Click here
Mendoza Click here

Brazil
Belo Horizonte Click here
Porto Alegre Click here
Rio de Janeiro Click here
São Paulo Click here
Santos Click here
Curitiba Click here
Brasilia Click here
Campinas Click here

Chile
Santiago de Chile Click here
Concepción Click here
Valparaíso Click here
Iquique Click here

Colombia
Bogota Click here
Barranquilla Click here
Cali Click here
Medellín Click here

Ecuador
Guayaquil Click here
Quito Click here

Mexico
Mexico City Click here
Guadalajara Click here
Merida Click here
Monterrey Click here
Puebla Click here
Querétaro Click here

Peru
Lima Click here

Uruguay
Montevideo Click here

help.cabify.com/hc/en-us/articles/...re-available-in-my-city-

For example, a near real-time “inter-cell interference cancellation function” provided by Airhop Communications is used for something called “interference mitigation.” This allows Rakuten Mobile to optimize its network and significantly improve the user experience. The data generated is then combined with other network data to optimize the network. Software components deployed at each base station measure the level of interference, which can effect the quality of calls and other activity, with other base stations. Then, if necessary, the radio frequency transmitting the signal can be changed, just as a driver changes lanes on a highway to avoid other vehicles.

The result: An automated antenna tilt optimization algorithm powered by machine learning, which minimizes interference and improves network coverage while at the same time making the network highly available to the end user. In a somewhat similar way that solar panels can be optimized to follow the sun, Rakuten Mobile’s antennas leverage data and machine learning to automatically tilt and optimize the network.

Rakuten Mobile’s open RAN architecture and cloud-native deployment with readily available network and other data enables the introduction of intelligence like this into the network in a seamless fashion.

rakuten.today/blog/...networks-rakuten-mobile-technology.html

One of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies, Cabify, is moving to offset its carbon emissions with the help of blockchain technology.

Announced last week, the Latin American ride-sharing business has tapped Valencia, Spain-based blockchain fintech firm ClimateTrade to digitize and track its carbon emissions.

ClimateTrade’s chief marketing officer, Ana Karen, told CoinDesk via email that Cabify selected her firm’s platform as a way to compensate for the ride-sharing giant’s carbon footprint. The system works by tracking users’ rides and offsetting the carbon dioxide generated by distributing credits on ClimateTrade’s blockchain marketplace.

The marketplace acts as an intermediary between those seeking to offset emissions and those wishing to invest in sustainability, according to ClimateTrade’s website.

Users can directly offset their carbon footprint by selecting the most suitable credits from the projects offered and obtain the records of all their transactions in a private account.

“This alliance will provide transparent accreditation of the company’s carbon neutrality,” said ClimateTrade’s CEO Francisco Benedito in a press release.

Cabify is popular throughout Latin America as well as Spain, where it is based, and currently operates in 40 cities across nine countries, per the company’s website.

www.coindesk.com/cabify-track-carbon-offset-using-blockchain

Rakuten Mobile’s systems will become more and more efficient and effective

As Rakuten Mobile’s new network is evolving very quickly, the algorithms used in these systems also need to evolve — statistical and machine learning systems process actual data from the network and refine the algorithms over time.  As they detect more and more patterns in the data, these systems can go beyond detecting and help to predict what will happen next.

All of this is possible because Rakuten Mobile’s network architecture is much more flexible, malleable and open than that of a traditional network. Crucially, all of its software runs on the cloud, where it can be quickly reconfigured and isn’t dependent on specialist hardware. This cloud-native and virtualized architecture makes it easier for Rakuten Mobile’s intelligent systems to access the necessary data to see what is going on in different elements of the network and adjust parameters where necessary. This architecture “tremendously simplifies the whole [network] and makes the approach possible,” notes Nahi.

All the data in Rakuten Mobile’s network is aggregated in major data centers, where it can be quickly analyzed. As a result, the dashboards in Rakuten Mobile’s network operations center show both the current state of the network and how that is likely to change moving forward.

Thanks to this streamlined and flexible architecture, Rakuten Mobile’s network, which currently includes more than 9,000 base stations, is managed by a team of just 130 engineers — far less than traditional telcos. And while Rakuten Mobile is scaling its network and plans to cover more than 96% of the Japan population by summer 2021, the engineering team will remain relatively small.

As it leverages the power of autonomous networks, Rakuten Mobile’s systems will become more and more efficient and effective. The end result: more cost-effective connectivity and a better end-user experience.

rakuten.today/blog/...networks-rakuten-mobile-technology.html

Close cooperation agreed between Telefónica / O2 and NEC for pilot area

The Japanese manufacturer NEC is one of the companies involved in the global development of Open RAN. Due to its extensive Open RAN expertise, Telefónica / O2 has chosen NEC as a partner for the pilot project in the O2 network in the Landsberg area. NEC will coordinate the setup and operation of the Open RAN at the Landsberg cellular sites, as well as combine the individual hardware assemblies and software from other participating companies such as Dell, Intel, Altiostar, Xilinx, Red Hat, GigaTera and Supermicro into a complete system. "We are proud to offer Open RAN, which brings tremendous value to our customers," said Mayuko Tatewaki, General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation. "We are very pleased to contribute to Telefónica Deutschland's highly strategic initiative with our IT/networking expertise and unique experience in Japan to accelerate the global adoption of Open RAN."

www.telefonica.de/news/...ith-open-ran-in-live-operation.html

Upstart, the owner of an online lending platform that utilises artificial intelligence in its activities, is also valued above $2bn, following a $240m initial public offering. Its shares rocketed up 47% in their first day of trading yesterday and its pre-IPO backers include Rakuten, Progressive and GV, which sold $1.6m of shares having backed Upstart’s $1.75m seed round eight years ago. Its remaining stake is worth about $28m at the current share price.

globalventuringreview.com/2020/12/...-2bn-at-180bn-valuation/

Lending company Upstart Inc. is looking to capitalize on a wave of enthusiasm for the financial technology sector as it heads for the public markets.

The company, which uses artificial intelligence to make lending decisions, priced its initial public offering at $20 a share late Tuesday, on the low end of its expected range of $20 to $22 a share. At that price, Upstart will raise at least $180 million at an initial market capitalization of $1.45 billion.
The company will receiving the proceeds from the sale of 9 million shares, with selling stock holders also selling about 3 million shares. Underwriters, led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup, have access to roughly 1.8 million additional shares for overallotments, which would come from selling stock holders.

Revenue for the first nine months of 2020 rose to $146.7 million from $101.6 million in the same period a year prior. Upstart generated net income of $5 million for the first nine months of 2020 after it posted a net loss of $6.5 million in the prior-year period.

www.marketwatch.com/story/...-cap-of-1-45-billion-11608092379

Price has more than doubled from the ipo-price of $20

41.80-2.29 (-5.19%)
As of 12:45PM EST.

Previous Close 44.09
Open 44.00
Bid 41.85 x 800
Ask 41.95 x 800
Day's Range 40.00 - 47.99
52 Week Range 22.61 - 48.66
Market Cap 3.033B

finance.yahoo.com/quote/UPST?p=UPST&.tsrc=fin-srch

Financial services provider, Wells Fargo, launched their affiliate marketing program with the goal of expanding credit card acquisition beyond current customers of the bank. Rakuten Advertising designed an affiliate prospecting program that focused on building strong relationships with publishers and educating them on the products offered. This approach was aligned with creating compelling consumer-facing offers that would appeal to a publisher’s audience.

By identifying high visibility placement opportunities, leveraging multi-channel marketing, and through tactical CPAs, the Wells Fargo Affiliate program saw:

369% YoY growth between July & September 2017 against the same period in 2016

“Rakuten Advertising has provided strategic recommendations that have helped us to optimize campaigns and test new acquisition strategies with publishers. Their expertise in the vertical and their strong partner relationships have led to a highly successful program.” – Jessica Joyner, AVP, Digital Acquisition Strategy at Wells Fargo

rakutenadvertising.com/affiliate/

48% Lift in Revenue

Australian online retail success story Vinomofo were excited to embrace new marketing technology. After relying predominately on Facebook and Search as marketing channels, they wanted to expand their media mix to drive new site visitors and increase the volume of sales through retargeting.

82% increase in ROAS for prospecting

52% increase in conversion rate for prospecting campaign

Retargeting drove 51% increase in sales volume

Retargeting click-through rates increased by 25%

“The use of the display channel has been a phenomenal success of Vinomofo. The team at Rakuten Advertising have proven the power of dynamic creative and personalisation in retargeting campaigns, and further highlighted the necessity of creative marketing fueled by data in order to reach your audience and grow your brand.” – Kip McMillan, Head of Marketing, Vinomofo

rakutenadvertising.com/en-au/advertisers/...play/retargeting/

mobile subscribers by 2028

At NTT Corporation's 2Q 2021 earnings call on November 6, 2020, the company acknowledged that for "this 20 giga (20 GB mobile plan), you do the international comparison and compared to the major cities around the world, the rate (in Japan) is high." To make things worse, the competitive intensity in Japan's mobile services market is increasing with the entry of internet giant Rakuten. Rakuten has set a target of having 15 million mobile subscribers by 2028. Although Rakuten's network coverage is still limited in the early phase of its commercial roll-out, Rakuten is aggressively competing for market share. Rakuten introduced its " ultrahigh speed 5G mobile internet service" priced at below "half the price offered by Japan’s three mega-carriers" in late-September 2020, based on a September 30, 2020 The Japan Times article.

seekingalpha.com/article/...oogle.com&utm_medium=referral