Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Telefónica brand Movistar using Open RAN in Puerto Madryn, Argentina

One of the persistent questions related to Open RAN is whether the shift from integrated radio stacks to multi-vendor Open RAN kit presents a trade off between lower capex with increased system integration costs. With a number of global operators embracing Open RAN, the system integration question is front-and-center in global testing activity.

In the latest, Telefónica brand Movistar is using an Open RAN network in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, to test the evolving tech on a live network. For this deployment, IBM is serving as the lead system integrator. On the vendor side, Altiostar and Red Hat are providing software running on hardware from Quanta, Gigatera and Kontron.

IBM’s Steve Canepa, global GM and managing director of the Communications Sector, wrote in a blog: “What’s really important about this implementation is that it demonstrates the telco industry’s trust in IBM’s deep experience as a systems integrator, as well as our proven tools and processes, to enable leading mobile operators to embrace emerging Open RAN technology. The PoC also serves as an additional proof point for the maturity of Altiostar’s Open RAN software and further strengthens their position as an IBM Cloud for Telecommunications ecosystem partner in the Open RAN domain.”

www.rcrwireless.com/20210329/open_ran/...ran-proof-of-concept

"Money Bridge" Einlagensaldo übersteigt 3 Billionen Yen!

12. April 2021

- Erreichte eine Erhöhung um 1 Billion Yen in einem Minimum von etwa 8 Monaten -

Die Rakuten Bank und Rakuten Securities haben im April 2011 mit dem Angebot einer Geldbrücke, einem Kontoverbindungsdienst, begonnen, um den Komfort von Dienstleistungen im Zusammenhang mit der persönlichen Vermögensbildung und Vermögensverwaltung zu verbessern. Dieser Service ist kostenlos für alle, die ein Konto bei beiden Unternehmen haben, und sobald es eingerichtet wurde, beträgt das Sparkonto der Rakuten Bank 0,10% pro Jahr (0,079% pro Jahr nach Steuern). Und zwischen den beiden Konten gibt es eine "Sweep"-Funktion. Seit April 2021 wird zudem der lange geforderte "US-Aktienhandel" von Rakuten Securities unterstützt.

Im Januar 2021 gab die Rakuten Bank ihre ersten 10 Millionen Konten bei Internetbanken in Japan bekannt und nutzte damit die Stärken des Rakuten-Ökosystems. Rakuten Securities hat seinen Kundenstamm 2020 um mehr als 5 Millionen Konten erweitert, was einer Steigerung von 35 % gegenüber dem Vorjahreszeitraum entspricht. Als Finanzinstitut, das Transaktionen online abschließen kann, sind die Dienstleistungen beider Unternehmen jederzeit verfügbar, unabhängig vom Standort, so dass viele Kunden sie weiterhin während der Selbstbeschränkung und neuen Lebensstilen nutzen, um die Ausbreitung von Covid-19 zu verhindern.

www.rakuten-bank.co.jp/press/2021/20210412.html

Rakuten Securities eröffnet im März mehr als 250.000 neue Konten pro Monat - 68% der Kontoeröffner im Januar-März sind in den 30er Jahren oder jünger, was die Vermögensbildung weiter ausweitet.

www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/company/newsrelease/fy2021.html

Gamechanger: Rakuten’s Win-Win Alliance with Japan Post

13 Apr 2021 11:17

The war between Softbank Corp (9434 JP)/Z Holdings (4689 JP) and Rakuten for leadership in digital ecosystems has seen Z Holdings acquire new partners and subsidiaries, and take leadership in cashless payments and then messaging through its merger with LINE Corp (3938 JP).

Now Rakuten Inc (4755 JP) is fighting back with a truly game changing deal with Japan Post Holdings (6178 JP) that could provide the reach and finance to develop new synergies in e-commerce, logistics, cashless payments and points, banking, insurance and mobile.

This is a major reset in the rivalry in digital commerce, making Rakuten almost like a state-backed enterprise – with all the benefits that implies. Z Holdings should be worried.

www.smartkarma.com/insights/...n-win-alliance-with-japan-post

WITH THE LARGEST, MOST REPRESENTATIVE E-COMMERCE PANELS IN THE WORLD

A NEW ERA OF MARKET RESEARCH

For decades, marketers have relied on surveys, complex projections, and small panels to understand shopper behaviors. The advent of machine learning enables a new era in market research where large volumes of data from millions of consumers can be used to accurately measure consumer buying behavior and preferences. Rakuten Intelligence, with the largest, most representative e-commerce panels in the world, precisely measures what others have only been able to approximate, revealing new insights about online consumer trends, retailers, brands and logistics companies. This superior research methodology eliminates the need to use less reliable, more time consuming traditional research methodologies.

www.rakutenintelligence.com/company/about

Rakuten : Approval of Special Radio Station Deployment Plan to Expand 5G Mobile Communications Systems

m.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...-Communications-32963467/

Rakuten’s new Un-Limit VI plan may have caused competitors to rethink their prices more than the government did. The company has been claiming to “democratize the mobile industry” for a few years.
Under the Rakuten Un-Limit VI plan, prices adjust automatically depending on how much data you use. If your total monthly data usage is between 1GB and 3GB, the fee will only be ¥980 (before taxes), ¥1,980 for data usage between 3GB and 20GB and 2,980 for data that exceeds 20GB can per month.

Rakuten’s total 4G and 5G networks are available, and domestic calls are free through the Rakuten Link communication app.

Un-Limit VI overview:
         •§Official website
         •§Between 1GB and 3GB for ¥980
         •§Between 3GB and 20GB for ¥1,980
         •§Unlimited data for ¥2,980
         •§Domestic free through the Rakuten Link app
         •§Unlimited international calls available for ¥980
         •§In-store support available

blog.gaijinpot.com/...-which-new-phone-plan-is-right-for-you/

Telefonica and IBM deploy open RAN network in Argentina
BY AISTE KRYZANOVSKE MARCH 30, 2021

IBM and Telefónica Argentina (Movistar) have announced a live, fully operational Open RAN network that will act as a proof of concept (PoC) for the delivery of commercial mobile services to the city of Puerto Madryn, Argentina, covering 81,000 urban residents. The launch allows for the testing of live, commercial traffic and provides an early proof point for the technology as it continues to develop.

IBM has led the system integration process, assembling components and systems from a number of software and hardware vendors, including Altiostar, Red Hat, Quanta, Gigatera and Kontron, from pre-integration all the way through to full deployment.

voip.review/2021/03/30/...-deploy-open-ran-network-argentina/

Rakuten Super Logistics Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary with the Launch of Xparcel Expedited

LAS VEGAS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL) announced its 20th anniversary as a national, full-service Third-Party Logistics provider (3PL).

RSL offers order fulfillment services including pick/pack, kitting, returns, and freight services. In 2001, RSL began as Webgistix with a single warehouse and the mission to provide eCommerce retailers with fast, accurate, and cost-effective order fulfillment services. In 2013, Rakuten Group, Inc. acquired Webgistix, enabling RSL to grow over the next eight years. RSL has now grown to 15 warehouses nationwide enabling a 2-day delivery network using ground services. In 2019, Rakuten Group, Inc. acquired FirstMile and IFS360, a Salt Lake City, UT based eCommerce parcel carrier company.
"RSL has experienced exceptional growth and development over the past 20 years," said Michael Manzione, President and CEO. "Moving forward, our focus will remain on offering all eCommerce retailers order fulfillment services that meet today's consumers' high expectations, such as next-day delivery and hassle-free returns."

Over the past 20 years, RSL has successfully evolved with the ever-changing eCommerce industry to stay ahead in the order fulfillment industry and position itself as a leader in the 3PL business.
"RSL works collaboratively with its clients to assess their fulfillment and shipping needs and leverage RSL's facility and carrier network in the most effective manner possible to meet consumer demand." Manzione said. "RSL's newest product is Xparcel Expedited, a ground-breaking, cost-effective shipping solution that provides 2-5 day transit times with lower costs, allowing small to mid-size eCommerce retailers to compete with larger brands."

www.dcvelocity.com/articles/...he-launch-of-xparcel-expedited

Approval of Special Radio Station Deployment Plan to Expand 5G Mobile Communications Systems
- Rakuten Mobile to promote deployment of 5G in the 1.7 GHz frequency band in areas excluding Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka

Tokyo, April 14, 2021 - Rakuten Mobile, Inc. announced that today it has received approval from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications for its special radio station deployment plan submitted on March 15, 2021, for the expansion of 5th generation (5G) mobile communications systems in the 1.7 GHz frequency band (over 1,860 MHz and equal to or under 1,880 MHz.)

Based on this approval, Rakuten Mobile will deploy base stations for use of the relevant frequency band in areas that exclude the metropolitan centers of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, in order to offer customers an even more convenient and enjoyable mobile service.

As Rakuten Mobile expands the buildout of its 5G network, it will also strengthen collaboration with the more than 70 services offered by the Rakuten Group across e-commerce, fintech, sports and content, to provide customers with new and enriched.

global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2021/...mp;category=mobile

Rakuten Mobile stood to gain access to a broader retail footprint following a deal between its parent company and Japan’s postal service.

E-commerce company Rakuten explained mobile was one element of an extended business alliance with Japan Post Group, with plans to offer account sign-up counters in post offices along with using the service’s delivery network for marketing campaigns.

www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/...-retail-reach-rises

Utilization of post office event space to create customer counters to accept new signup applications for Rakuten Mobile and other functions;

Utilization of Japan Post Group’s delivery network to conduct marketing initiatives.

...group-and-rakuten-group-announce-business-partnership.html

Japan Post conducts the majority of its business from its network of 24,000 post offices around Japan. For Rakuten, this represents a rare opportunity to take its virtual services into the real world.

The new partners are planning to make use of Japan Post’s offices by opening counters in event spaces to allow new users to sign up for the recently launched Rakuten Mobile. The agreement also offers Rakuten Mobile access to new locations for base station antennas at post offices across Japan, allowing it to expand its coverage network at an even more explosive pace.

These plans open up an even broader potential market for Rakuten Mobile. In a country with an aging population like that of Japan’s, the analog-native demographic is one that no company can afford to ignore.

rakuten.today/blog/...onverging-online-offline-expertise.html

Maximize synergies by effectively leveraging the business resources and expertise of both groups

According to the companies, this new capital and business alliance will enable them to maximize synergies by effectively leveraging the business resources and expertise of both groups to provide greater convenience for customers, give back to local communities, and grow their businesses.

Both Groups will consider business alliance collaboration for example in Logistics:

Creation of shared logistics centers

Creation of shared delivery and pick-up systems

Sharing of data held by Japan Post and Rakuten

Joint commercialization of digital transformation platform for logistics, including the establishment of a new company

Collaborations and initiatives between Japan Post and Rakuten to expand usage of Rakuten Fulfillment Centers and Japan Post’s ‘Yu-Pack’ parcels.

www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/business

Wobei ein “Moment” als das definiert wird, was Menschen während ihrer Freizeit tagsüber und abends tun – sei es mit der Familie fernsehen, mit Freunden Nachrichten austauschen, im Internet nach einem Geschenk für einen lieben Menschen suchen oder ihren Interessen nachgehen und zum Beispiel die neuesten Streaming-Video-Inhalte aus Asien, von beispielsweise koreanischen Dramen bis hin zu chinesischen Serien, innerhalb ihrer Community diskutieren. Das Verständnis der Denkweise, die ihre Zielgruppe zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt hat, ermöglicht es Advertisern, ihre Budgets sinnvoller einzusetzen und ihre Überzeugung zu stärken, dass die jeweilige Botschaft auch zielgerecht ankommt.
Edouard Lauwick, SVP Southern Europe bei Rakuten Advertising, kommentierte die Kampagne so: “Nach einem der herausforderndsten Jahre in der Geschichte der Werbung müssen Advertiser sicherstellen, dass ihre Budgets den optimalen ROI liefern, und gleichzeitig versuchen, sich in einer post-pandemischen Werbelandschaft wirtschaftlich zu erholen. Die Verbindung mit den Verbrauchern im Kontext des ‚Moments‘ vervielfacht die Wirkung für Advertiser. Umgekehrt ist es bestenfalls ineffektiv und schlimmstenfalls lästig, die Zielgruppe zu stören, wenn sie sich in einem Moment befindet, der nicht zur Marke passt.“

“Wir können Brands dabei helfen, einen Moments-First Ansatz in der Werbung über unsere Plattformen hinweg zu verfolgen, um das Problem unnötiger Werbeausgaben anzugehen. Agenturen sollten darüber nachdenken, wie die verschiedenen Momenterlebnisse der jeweiligen Zielgruppe mit der Markenpositionierung ihrer Kunden in Einklang gebracht werden können, und Brands sollten kritisch hinterfragen, wie der Zielgruppenkontext in ihren Werbestrategien genutzt wird.”

Über Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising verbindet führende Agenturen, Marken und Publisher mit aktiven und engagierten Verbrauchern auf der ganzen Welt. Mit dem Zugang zu Rakutens vielfältigen Medien und Zielgruppen, kombiniert mit einem preisgekrönten Performance-Netzwerk und firmeneigener Verbraucherforschung, schafft Rakuten Advertising die richtigen Voraussetzungen, um neue Kunden zu erreichen und eine langfristige Loyalität aufzubauen. Mit seiner Grundlage aus fortschrittlicher Technologie, Daten und strategischen Dienstleistungen ist Rakuten Advertising in der Lage, eine differenzierte Palette von Marketing- und Werbelösungen anzubieten und gleichzeitig die Branche ständig voranzutreiben. Es ist eine Sparte von Rakuten Inc. (4755: TOKYO), einem der weltweit führenden Internet-Dienstleistungsunternehmen. Der Hauptsitz des Unternehmens befindet sich in San Mateo, Kalifornien, mit Niederlassungen in Australien, Singapur, Brasilien, Frankreich, Deutschland, der Ukraine, Großbritannien und in den USA.

rakutenadvertising.com/de-de/...m-richtigen-moment-zu-werben/

Apr 9, 2021,02:19pm EDT|483 views
Cabify Brings In New CFO To Lead The Charge To An IPO

Jonathan Keane
Freelance technology journalist covering the gig economy.

Cabify, the Spanish ride-hailing company, has hired a new chief financial officer to steward its path to a public listing.

The Madrid stock exchange seems a likely destination for Cabify rather than pursuing a stock market debut in other hubs like London and New York. It hasn’t provided any timeline for when it hopes to list.
Cabify has raised over $470 million from investors and is backed by Rakuten Capital, the venture arm of the Japanese e-commerce giant, and Spanish investment firm Seaya Ventures. It was reportedly examining a possible listing in 2019, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

While companies are banking on recovery at some point in 2021, delivery of items like food and online shopping goods has become a strong business line in the absence of passengers.
Last month, Cabify launched an expansion into last-mile delivery to build up a new business unit beyond traditional ride-hailing. The logistics service is being expanded to take advantage of the surge in e-commerce and online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cabify is based in Spain and operates in its native market and in neighboring Portugal but the lion’s share of its business is in South America. Operating in several countries like Argentina, Chile and Colombia, the company has fashioned a sizeable market share in the region where it competes with Uber and China’s Didi Chuxing, which is planning an IPO of its own.

www.forbes.com/sites/jonathankeane/2021/...o/?sh=128b0c207bcf

de.0xzx.com/20210415166457.html

5G-Mobilfunkfrequenzen

Donnerstag, 15. April 2021 um 09:41

TOKIO (IT-Times) - Der größte japanische E-Commerce Konzern Rakuten Group ist auch im Telekommunikations-Business tätig und errichtet derzeit in Japan ein eigenes Mobilfunknetz.
Genehmigt wurde ein spezieller Plan zur Bereitstellung von Funkstationen für den Ausbau von 5G-Mobilfunksystemen. Rakuten Mobile nutzt 5G im 1,7-GHz-Frequenzband in Gebieten außerhalb von Metropolen.

Diese Genehmigung beinhaltet damit den Ausbau von Mobilkommunikationssystemen der 5. Generation (5G) im 1,7-GHz-Frequenzband (über 1.860 MHz und gleich oder unter 1.880 MHz).
Basierend auf dieser Genehmigung wird Rakuten Mobile Basisstationen zur Nutzung des entsprechenden Frequenzbandes in Gebieten außerhalb der Ballungszentren Tokio, Nagoya und Osaka errichten.

www.it-times.de/news/...mobilfunk-ausbauplan-in-japan-138479/

As other governments around the world consider their positions, the markets agree that OpenRAN will be a key element in future networks. ABI Research, a market-intelligence organization, forecasts OpenRAN spending by public cellular networks to reach $10 billion globally by 2026-27 and to exceed traditional RAN spending by 2030 at $30 billion (Fig. 1). ABI also expects OpenRAN spending on enterprise, industrial, and private networks to generate a further $10 billion in 2030.

www.electronicdesign.com/...r-when-openran-becomes-mainstream

BlueVine: Lending, banking and payments working together

When small business lending FinTech BlueVine took the wraps off its bank offering last October, the solution emerged as a natural extension of the company’s existing offering. After all, lending and banking are intrinsically connected — in theory.

In reality, however, various financial services have historically been siloed and disjointed for many SMB end users, according to Steve Allocca, who joined the company as COO earlier this month, taking along his experiences at LendingClub, PayPal, Wells Fargo and other heavyweights in the finance and technology arena.

BlueVine’s introduction of its Business Banking offering came at a time of urgency and desperation for many smaller firms in the U.S., which were eager for greater access to robust financial services. Availability of credit was certainly key to filling that need, as Allocca told Karen Webster in a recent interview. Yet to truly address SMBs’ needs, financial service providers must rethink the way that lending, banking and payments can work together — and not just provide firms with money, but actually foster long-term growth.

With BlueVine’s Business Banking launching at such a vulnerable time in history for many small businesses, the company took the opportunity to dive headfirst into initiatives like facilitating Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. With a bit more stability in the market today, Allocca is stepping into his role at BlueVine with a focus on cultivating this concept of interlocking banking with credit. It will be key to getting more capital into the hands of the SMB owners who need it, and to cultivating an ecosystem in which small businesses have greater visibility into and understanding of their finances, underpinned by support from their service providers.

www.pymnts.com/b2b-payments/...w-vision-for-loan-underwriting

www.ip-insider.de/was-ist-vran-a-1012665/

RakutenMobile is winning the network virtualization race with a software-centric mindset, changing the way mobile networks are built, operated and managed by building its entire network on QCT open, disaggregated server platforms.

www.facebook.com/...580667656&story_fbid=4046185965412885

„IBM also recently announced the launch of an Open RAN Center of Excellence in Spain to drive Open RAN adoption across Europe. The center leverages the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications and its ecosystem partners Altiostar and Juniper. IBM’s existing Telco Network Cloud Lab locations in Nice (France) and Dallas (USA) will serve as a network for knowledge and resource sharing with the new center. The center will focus on live implementations that are similar to the Telefonica/Movistar PoC in Argentina, but on a greater scale.“

newsroom.ibm.com/...Global-Telco-Transformation-with-Open-RAN

5 Strategies to Make 2021 the Year that Open vRAN is Widely Deployed in Brownfield Networks

Part of that success is the extensive attention given to the Rakuten Mobile network, a greenfield network that launched in April 2020 as the first nationwide wireless network based on open RAN software.

But the understated story of the year is the number of brownfield carriers who are looking to apply the technology as they buildout their existing network. Over the last year a growing number of these operators began carefully integrating this new technology into their existing networks.

This work doesn’t grab headlines, but I think it will lead to significant deployments in 2021.
Integrating Open RAN with legacy networks takes planning. While each network is different, there are some common themes, as I wrote in an article published in “The Fast Mode.” Here are five strategies that can simplify the adoption of open RAN by brownfield operators:

Conduct a 4G Open vRAN trial in single geography to support growth or support for a new frequency band.

Use Open vRAN in 4G/5G greenfield network expansion projects.

Follow Open vRAN blueprints set up by companies like Altiostar that pre-validate all the  elements needed for an end-to-end solution to enable quick deployment.

Build Open vRAN 5G network which, by definition, is a greenfield network opportunity as legacy RAN equipment doesn’t support 5G.

Build Open vRAN 5G on top of existing LTE network for non-standalone networks as capacity expansion on top of existing LTE network.

These are the highlights of the more detailed strategies that I proposed in my article. As brownfield operators use these strategies to prove out the benefits of Open RAN in their networks, expect to hear more about deployments and adoption of the framework in 2021.

www.altiostar.com/...-widely-deployed-in-brownfield-networks/

Panel discussion: Telco transformation from the leading edge

Hear from the leaders and early adopters of 5G--Azita Arvani, general manager, Americas with Rakuten, and Orange SVP of Seamless Wireless Access Arnaud Vamparys--regarding their journey to 5G network deployment, successful routes to market, use cases and business strategy evolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wSN2KxUSfA&t=30s