Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

The Virgin Media O2 deal is also another feather in Rakuten Symphony’s cap.

Dan Meyer | Executive EditorSeptember 1, 2022 3:00 PM

The standalone company was formed late last year by the Japanese e-commerce giant to push its open RAN architecture into more networks around the world. Earlier this year it scored deployment deals with AT&T, Cisco, Nokia, and Qualcomm, which followed previous deals with operators like Germany’s 1&1 Drillisch.

www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/...open-ran-service/2022/09/

Rakuten Europe’s Growth Team initiated a strategic partnership with Japan Expo in Paris, the biggest event in Europe dedicated to fans of Japanese culture. The event was aimed at providing an authentic experience of Japanese culture, with Rakuten’s booth embodying the spirit of omotenashi (hospitality), and attracted over 250,000 visitors across the four days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pNp_JqDLsw

Average 1,138.9 (+74.15% Upside)

www.investing.com/equities/rakuten-inc-consensus-estimates

aber das hab ich auch schon die letzten Monate gedacht. Der Trend zeigt leider weiter monoton nach unten.
Ich rate deshalb mit Käufen/Nachkäufen zu warten bis der ABWÄRTSKANAL NACHHALTIG nach oben durchbrochen wird.

Rakuten is embracing a new model of sports sponsorships that moves beyond simply posting logos
Rakuten is embracing a new model of sports sponsorships that moves beyond simply “posting logos,” to bring empowerment to communities and helping create a sustainable future for sports. For example, enabling sports fans in Japan to receive special goods, as well as, Rakuten Points, by selling autographed goods from players, or enabling users to interact with players outside of the games when they join the online point exchange program. It is a source of income for the team, and Rakuten can promote sales and support the sports partnerships as well.

Only Rakuten can make this sustainable sponsorship model possible by leveraging the Rakuten Ecosystem to create win-win-win relationships with all stakeholders. Being a part of this innovative evolution is an exciting part of working at Rakuten.

rakuten.today/people-culture/my-rakuten-experience-nozomi.html

Rakuten lässt sich m.E. momentan ziemlich simpel beschreiben:

Rakuten setzt seine Investitionen in Mobile fort, wenn auch vielleicht nicht mehr so ganz so heftig wie in der Vergangenheit. Der negative operative Cash Flow verringert sich zwar stark, bleibt aber in Q3/22 m.E. mit Sicherheit negativ und vielleicht auch noch in Q4/22.

Damit ensteht  zusammen mit den Investitionen spätestens in Q4/22 ein Finanzierungsbedarf  - und da Rakuten noch nicht angedeutet hat, welchen Weg es dabei geht, haben wir eine gewisse Unsicherheit, die man m.E. bei den dadurch noch versachten niedrigen Kursen zum Einstieg nutzen sollte.

Zu den Lösungen:

Man könnte die Investitionen bremsen bzw. verschieben: Wenn es andere Möglichkeiten gibt, von denen ich ausgehe, wird das wohl kaum bzw. nur in geringem Umfang geschehen.

Man könnte weniger ins Konzept passende Assets verkaufen: Das geschieht schon die ganze Zeit (z.B. GoTo-Beteiligung oder Rakuten Super Logistics oder Glovo? und andere),  aber leider erfahren wir nichts über die Zahlen. Und da ist noch vieles möglich, wobei ich vor allem an den Verkauf des fast 50%-igen Cabify-Anteils denke, der meines Erachtens zwischen 800 Millionen und einer Millarde einbringen könnte. Das Zögern beim Verkauf von Cabify, die eigentlich nicht so gut ins momentane Konzept passen, kann ich mir eigentlich nur so erklären, dass man die Zukunftsaussichten von Cabify sehr positiv beurteilt.

Und dann kämen Börsengänge von Rakuten Bank und Rakuten Securities in Spiel, die schon weit vorbereitet sind, bei den man aber wegen der momentanen Börsenflaute zögert.

Die von mir bevorzugte Lösung ist allerdings neben Teilansätzen der vorstehenden Lösungen (vor allen der Monetarisierung weniger ins Konzept passenderer Assets)  weitere Fremdfinanzierung in Yen, z.B. in der zuletzt praktizierten Form, dass man Kunden von Rakuten Securites Schuldverschreibungen anbietet, wo man zuletzt mit 0,72% Verzinsung zum Zug kam und wohl auch in  Zukunft nicht mehr als 1% bieten muss. Denn üblicherweise haben wir bei Telco-Investitionen weltweit sehr hohe Fremdkapitalanteile - und warum sollte das bei Rakuten Mobile anders sein?

Und wenn alle Stricke reißen, hat Rakuten noch einen fantastichen Trumpf in der Hinterhand: Viber

Wohl aus diesem Grund hat Rakuten Viber nicht bzw. nur sehr lose mit dem Ecosystem von Rakuten verzahnt - ein Verkauf von Viber wäre also problemlos mögich, ohne Viber einerseits und Rakuten andererseits zu beschädigen.

Und einen Verkaufspeis zwischen 3 und 5 Milliarden US-Dollar kann ich mir für Viber schon vorstellen - auch wenn er vor vielen Jahren mit sehr viel weniger Subscribern einmal für knapp ein Milliarde US-Dollar über den Ladentisch ging.

Rakuten Mobile enthüllte, dass es einige Leute, die den Tarifplan "Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII" verwenden, seit etwa 10:58 Uhr am 4. September darüber informiert hatte, dass es schwierig sei, Anrufe und Datenkommunikation zu verbinden, aber es wurde gegen 13:36 Uhr am selben Tag wiederhergestellt.

Der Kommunikationsausfall trat landesweit auf und betraf etwa 1,3 Millionen Leitungen. Die Ursache soll sein, dass der Kommunikationsverkehr durch den Neustart der Netzwerkausrüstung überlastet wurde. Das Unternehmen sagte, es "entschuldigte sich für alle Unannehmlichkeiten, die dies unseren Kunden verursacht haben könnte" und "entschuldigt sich zutiefst".

www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/2209/04/news051.html

Was fällt dem hyperaktiven Rakuten-Chef als nächstes ein. Immer wenn sein Unternehmen in die Ernte-Phase eintreten könnte überlegt er sich eine neue Investition.
Was kommt nach Mobilfunk ?
Raketen (liegt ja nahe) wie bei Elon ?
Containerschiffe (das wäre auch schön teuer)
oder ein Fernsehsender - da könnte er sein Ego noch besser präsentieren.

In meinen Augen ist ein Invest mit diesem CEO viel zu riskant. Man landet seit Jahren in einer Value-Trap.

Ich sehe das so: Die starke Vielfachung des Kurses in der Zukunft ist mit dem Namen "Mikitani" verbunden,  weil eine derartige Strategie, wie sie Rakuten fährt, nur mit  starken Anker-Aktionären möglich ist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQyzUC5bjWA

Warum soll ein Unternehmen nicht mehr als  seinen Cash Flow in neue Investitionen stecken, wenn diese große Gewinne versprechen, die bisherigen Aktivitäten hoch profitabel sind und die Finanzierung zu stemmen ist?

Dann sinken zwar die aktuellen Gewinne bzw. wandeln sich in Verluste - aber das ist für einen langfristigen Investor kein Problem, da er später mit noch höheren Gewinnen belohnt wird, als es ohne die hohen Investitionen möglich gewesen wäre.

“Rakuten Symphony and NEC have complementary solutions providing advanced and highly automated Open RAN, edge cloud and proven operational systems, and this deployment in the UK for Virgin Media O2 demonstrates innovation and technology leadership by the mobile operator,” says Rabih Dabboussi, chief business officer of Rakuten Symphony. “Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN software, combined with NEC’s world-class radios and system integration capabilities, validate the transformative potential that Open RAN technology brings to the industry.”

www.vanillaplus.com/2022/09/07/...n-ran-innovation-in-the-uk/

There’s a lot of potential for further growth and ordinary profit for Rakuten Bank

Now Rakuten Bank, we have announced that we will list this, and we have announced that mid to long-term vision as well in March this year 12.3 million is the number but 15% growth is expected to reach approximately 25 million and deposit balance from 7.7 trillion to 20 trillion is the target. When we purchased the e-bank, it was several 100 billion. I think that was the cash balance but then it has grown so much. So I think there’s a lot of potential for further growth and ordinary profit.

seekingalpha.com/article/...-results-earnings-call-transcript

Rakuten is one of the owners and a client of AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile Announces BlueWalker 3, the Largest Commercial Communications Array Ever Deployed to Low Earth Orbit

Historic direct-to-cell phone test mission planned to reach orbit September 10th

AST SpaceMobile, Inc., today announced its BlueWalker 3 test satellite is planned to reach orbit September 10 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

"The start of the BlueWalker 3 mission is a major step forward to provide space-based cellular broadband," said Abel Avellan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AST SpaceMobile. "With agreements and understandings from mobile network operators who collectively provide service to over 1.8 billion subscribers around the globe, the BW3 mission bolsters our mutual commitment to connect the unconnected."

Once BlueWalker 3 is deployed and operational, in-orbit testing and configuration will begin. AST SpaceMobile plans to conduct BW3 direct-to-cell phone testing on six continents, including North America. Mobile network operators (MNOs) in the mission's test plans include Vodafone, Rakuten Mobile, and Orange, among others. AST SpaceMobile has agreements and understandings with more than 25 MNOs, including a mutual exclusivity with Vodafone in 24 countries.

Members of the public will be able to watch a live broadcast on September 10th on AST SpaceMobile's YouTube channel or view it in person at several public viewing locations throughout the Cape Canaveral area.

www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220908005651/en/

Open RAN-based mobile network of 1&1 is making strides

Europe’s first fully virtualized, Open RAN-based mobile network is making strides: Friendly User Test success

On August 4, 2022, at its second quarter earnings results, 1&1 shared an update on the progress of the buildout of Germany’s fourth mobile network – and the signs look great.

Network buildout progressing smoothly

According to the update, 1&1 and its partners, including Rakuten Symphony, initiated operation of the first antennas and data centers in the first half of 2022, and the expansion in the urban areas is progressing. As required by the expansion obligations relating to the 5G frequencies, 1&1 will cover 50 per cent of households in Germany by the end of 2030 – a goal that the company is confident it will exceed.

Great results from first Friendly User Test for fixed wireless access: speeds of 1 gigabit per second, latency times of 3 milliseconds

As the wireless network will initially be available solely in the proximity of these locations, 1&1 is starting with 5G mobile services as an alternative to landline connections. On this basis, a fixed-network replacement product implemented via mobile communications was tested under real conditions in a Friendly User Test (FUT) launched in July.

The 1&1 OpenRAN delivered the predicted performance values with speeds of 1 gigabit per second, latency times of 3 milliseconds for gaming applications in the EDGE cloud, and stable data transfers of more than 8 terabytes per customer within 24 hours.

symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...V2eF3Ch0hjQDJEAAYASACEgK3tfD_BwE

Confident that the future will be open, automated, software-centric and cloud-native

Building the future of telco: From India with CEO Tareq Amin

By Tareq Amin CEO Rakuten Symphony

September 8, 2022

Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin reflects on his recent visit to India, plans for the company's new Global Innovation Lab in Bengaluru and the very first Rakuten Symphony SyncUps in Bengaluru and Indore, employee events to celebrate local successes and share the vision for the future of the company.

As we look ahead to the next stage of our industry, I am confident that the future will be open, automated, software-centric and cloud-native. The rise of these technologies will democratize the industry and bring billions of people around the world online in the process. And this future — which Rakuten Symphony is helping to realize — will be powered in significant ways by remarkable talent and technology from India.

I first visited India eight years ago, when I decided to move to Mumbai to transform the country’s telco sector with Reliance Jio. The four years I spent in India, traveling throughout the country, were unlike anything I had ever seen. The riot of c

symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...o-from-india-with-ceo-tareq-amin

During International Pride Month this year, Rakuten Group offices and businesses around the world once again took this opportunity to show support for LGBTQ+ communities and raise awareness towards diversity and inclusion (D&I). RNN shares an overview of the initiatives that took place, including external events, internal panel discussions, specially created content, and more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCEZ-QE42I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEkhhDm-8V8

So our ambition is not to be a fourth mobile operator in Japan. It is by far to be a highly disruptive ecosystem provider in which we want to take the number-one position in this country. The approach we take here is very simple. We need to ensure that ubiquitous, high-quality coverage is delivered anywhere you go in Japan. We are almost there.

I’m not just talking about the outdoors. High-rises, indoor, deep indoor, basements, subways. Anything and everywhere you go, an amazing network must be delivered. And second is the point/membership/loyalty that I talked to you about earlier. We think that’s a huge differentiator from the competitors, just to bring a much bigger value, and being obsessed about the customer experience and the services that we have offered.

From being an infant, to where we are today, I am really happy about what the team has accomplished, but we have a lot of work that we need to focus on to finish the last remaining 3 percent of our build. That percent is extremely important to achieve the quality of coverage that we need to really be at par and better.

I know my cost today is 40 percent cheaper in running my network than any competitor in Japan. I have an advantage that is virtually impossible for anybody in Japan to compete against today around network cost structure. So that gives me a leg up on what we could do, what business models we could experiment with, and the actions that we will take. You will see us very decisive in our approach, because we don’t want just to be another carrier in Japan. We want to be leading mobile operators in this country.

www.theverge.com/23297756/...e-ceo-oran-cloud-network-decoder

Price comparison! Apple, SB/au/docomo/Rakuten start accepting reservations for the iPhone 14 series

about 20 hours ago

iphonewired.com/news/479347/

Mobile Messaging Services Professional Market Strong Growth Forecast by 2029 – Telegram, Rakuten, Facebook, Tencent, Microsoft Corporation, Line, etc

Posted on September 6, 2022

The most significant players coated in Global Mobile Messaging Services Professional Market report-

Telegram
Rakuten
Facebook
Tencent
Microsoft Corporation
Line
Hike
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Google
WhatsApp

restonrecorder.ca/climate/...oft-corporation-line-etc/580314/

Huge Satellite Meant to Power Cellular Broadband Launches Saturday

The communications array on the BlueWalker 3 test satellite spans 693 square feet, which AST SpaceMobile says is the largest ever on a commercial satellite.

By Michael Kann 9 Sep 2022, 10:05 p.m.

A test satellite designed to beam broadband to smartphones is slated to launch tomorrow.

The BlueWalker 3 test satellite comes from Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, which is working to build the first space-based cellular broadband network accessible by standard smartphones.

The technology promises to help mobile carriers supply broadband at 4G/5G speeds to customers in cellular dead zones. AST SpaceMobile has already entered into partnerships with over two dozen mobile carriers that collectively serve over 1.8 billion subscribers.

uk.pcmag.com/networking/142572/...broadband-launches-saturday

What to expect: Zia will talk about the importance of automation to ensure efficiency, reduce errors and to reduce new service time to market. As a bonus, he’ll demonstrate the automation capability of Symworld showing real-world capabilities to enable zero-touch automation.

Securing the Connected World Thu, 29 Sep: 16:30 - 17:30 PDT
Level2, W231, WEST HALL
John Carse, Chief Information Security Officer, Rakuten Mobile & Rakuten Symphony
What to expect: John will moderate this panel bringing his years of security experience to bear on the challenges of securing today’s wireless networks. The panel will discuss how security is evolving to meet the needs of multi-vendor networks supporting dramatically more connected devices.

symphony.rakuten.com/newsroom/...a-focus-on-business-outcomes

Amazon Kindle’s biggest rival is offering you a great reason to switch sides

AMAZON KINDLE fans looking for a new ereader could be tempted to switch sides, thanks to a new device and big pledge that Kobo has just launched.

By DION DASSANAYAKE 09:01, Wed, Sep 7, 2022

Amazon Kindle users looking to upgrade their ereader may be tempted to switch over to Kobo, thanks to a new device Rakuten has just launched. Amazon's big ereader rival has just unveiled its new Kobo Clara 2E, which is available to pre-order now ahead of a September 22 release date. Priced at £129.99 and fitted with a warm light for night reading, the Kobo Clara 2E is a direct competitor to the Kindle Paperwhite - but if you care about the environment you may have your head turned by Kobo's new device.

That's because the Kobo Clara 2E is being billed as a "more eco-conscious" ereader, thanks to it being made from over 85 percent recycled plastic.

This includes 10 percent ocean-bound plastic, and over the course of a year Kobo plans to divert over 200,000 plastic bottles from our oceans and over a million CDs and DVDs from landfills to help with its recycling efforts.

The packaging for the Kobo Clara 2E is also made from recycled paper, is recyclable itself and is printed with soy ink.

If you care about the environment this level of sustainability may sway you over from Amazon to Kobo.

www.express.co.uk/life-style/...fering-great-reason-to-switch