TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Open RAN
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • 5G
  • Access Evolution
  • Private Networks
  • Cloud Native
  • Edge
  • Open Networking
  • Sustainability
  • AI, Analytics and Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • 5G
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Access Evolution
  • AI, Analytics and Automation
  • Cloud Native
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Edge
  • Open Networking
  • Open RAN
  • Private Networks
  • Security
  • Sustainability
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

4G LTE

4G LTE

Rakuten Mobile turns over $1bn before MNO service launch

Mary Lennighan
By Mary Lennighan

Feb 13, 2020

via Flickr © Japanexperterna.se (CC BY-SA 2.0)

via Flickr © Japanexperterna.se (CC BY-SA 2.0)

  • Japanese firm has strong base on which to build MNO business
  • 4G service launch planned for April, 5G to follow in June
  • Pricing announcement due within the month...
  • All eyes on the market's big three

Rakuten Mobile reported revenue in excess of US$1 billion last year and its mobile network hasn't even launched yet.

The Japanese e-commerce giant on Thursday revealed that its mobile unit – which includes its MVNO operation and fast-growing voice and messaging platform Viber, as well as its forthcoming MNO venture – turned over 119.8 billion yen (US$1.1 billion) in 2019, up by one third on the previous year. The growth came on the back of an increase in subscribers for both the MVNO and Viber, it said. The network build is, understandably, taking its toll on profitability though. Rakuten Mobile increased its loss to JPY60 billion last year.

Rakuten's existing MVNO business is a minnow in comparison with the rest of the market. The firm ended 2019 with 2.3 million customers, an increase of just over half a million over 12 months. By contrast, market leader NTT DoCoMo, whose network Rakuten currently uses, has close to 80 million.

However, Viber boasted 1.15 billion unique IDs at the same date. The combination of a small existing mobile operation and an internationally well-known brand like Viber – not to mention the Rakuten's broader assets; the group as a whole posted revenues of JPY1.26 trillion ($11.5 billion) last year – makes a strong base on which to build a business as a mobile network operator.

And Rakuten will be able to call itself an MNO in just two months.

The company says it is on track to launch full commercial services on 4G in April and will follow up with a 5G launch in June. It began building out base stations at the end of 2018 and this time last year talked up successful end-to-end testing in a fully virtualised cloud native mobile network. The first phase of the network build is ahead of schedule; Rakuten has to date deployed over 3,300 base stations and expects to increase this to 4,400 next month, against a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications target of 3,432.

Rakuten soft-launched its mobile network in October, giving free access to 5,000 customers in return for feedback. It opened it up to a further 20,000 users in January, also adding in a beta version of its RCS-based Rakuten Link dialling app that supports voice calls and messaging.

Mobile prices are coming down in Japan following governmental pressure on the operators, but Rakuten's launch is likely to be the real catalyst for change there.

The firm will unveil its mobile pricing plans on 3 March. And then all eyes will be on DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank to see how they react.

Related Topics
  • 4G LTE,
  • 5G,
  • Access Evolution,
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • Announcement,
  • Asia-Pacific,
  • Business Models,
  • Cloud Native,
  • Edge,
  • KDDI,
  • News,
  • NTT Docomo,
  • Rakuten Mobile,
  • SoftBank,
  • Telco & CSP

More Like This

Access Evolution

The iliad Group keeps up its growth momentum in first-quarter 2022

May 20, 2022

Private Networks

Nokia beefs up its private wireless networks offering

May 19, 2022

Private Networks

Nokia launches MX Boost for private wireless to optimize reliability and performance for the most demanding industry use cases

May 19, 2022

Digital Platforms & Services

StarHub shoots for the digital moon with help from Matrixx Software

May 17, 2022

Digital Platforms & Services

Rakuten sees green shoots of digital ecosystem synergies

May 13, 2022

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

16:19

AT&T Amy Zwarico on securing telco applications in the public cloud

35:55

The best use cases for telco/public cloud partnerships

13:58

Ahmed El Sayed on Vodafone’s ‘techco’ transformation

36:47

The role of 5G in private network innovation

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2022. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).