• Rakuten Mobile fires up its RIC
• Motorola Solutions to acquire ad hoc mobile network builder Silvas Technologies 
• Germany’s OneFiber to build out with Ciena

In today’s industry news roundup: Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony have deployed a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) to help reduce power consumption in the Japanese operator’s Open RAN infrastructure; Motorola Solutions is splashing $4.4bn on a company that can build ad hoc mobile networks for customers in the defence and law enforcement sectors; OneFiber is building a secure national data transport network in Germany using gear from Ciena; and much more!

Rakuten Mobile and its vendor offspring Rakuten Symphony have deployed a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) platform to manage Rakuten Mobile’s 4G and 5G Open RAN infrastructure in Japan. The RIC has been in development by the Rakuten team since 2023 and its impending commercial deployment was highlighted during a presentation last November by the operator’s co-CEO, Sharad Sriwastawa, who is also president of Rakuten Symphony – see Rakuten Mobile turns to its RIC for energy-efficiency gains.

According to Rakuten Mobile, using the RIC “is expected to enable up to 20% reduction in network energy consumption and marks a significant step towards more sustainable and intelligent mobile networks of the future”. Those gains come from the use of specific RIC applications known as rApps (RAN apps) that “analyse subscriber traffic patterns, predict demand and dynamically adjust base station utilisation for optimal network efficiency,” noted the operator, which has about 8.6 million customers and recently achieved its first quarter of EBITDA profitability. Commenting on the RIC deployment, Sriwastawa stated: “From day one, Rakuten Mobile has been committed to building, deploying and operating an automated, cloud-native, intelligent and open network powered by software. This RIC deployment is a major milestone in our journey to build a fully automated, sustainable and intelligent mobile network. By leveraging AI and Open RAN, we are not only reducing our environmental footprint but also creating a more agile and cost-effective infrastructure that will enable us to deliver innovative services to our customers.” You can find out more about the potential of RIC platforms and their associated applications in TelecomTV’s free-to-download DSP Leaders Report, Open RAN: Advances in the RAN Intelligent Controller. 

Sriwastawa noted in his comments that Rakuten Mobile has always been committed to building and operating a cloud-native network, but is it recognised as a cloud-native telco pioneer by its peers? You can find out by downloading our latest free-to-download industry research publication, The Cloud-Native Telco Market Perception Report.  

Critical communications vendor Motorola Solutions has struck a deal to acquire Los Angeles, California-based Silvus Technologies for $4.4bn in a move that strengthens Motorola’s portfolio in one of the enterprise vertical industries that offers growth opportunities for vendors – the defence sector. “Silvus designs and develops software-defined high-speed mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) technology that enables highly secure data, video and voice communications without the need for fixed infrastructure,” noted Motorola Solutions in this announcement. “Silvus’s wide range of customers spans autonomous systems manufacturers, military, law enforcement and enterprises around the world,” and its technology is “designed to support frontline operations in the most challenging and contested environments. Silvus’s devices mesh together to establish large, scalable and self-healing networks that adapt to continuous mobility. These robust mobile networks connect people, devices and other nodes over distance and at scale, and seamlessly support bandwidth-intensive technologies like video, sensors and drones,” it added. Greg Brown, chairman and CEO at Motorola Solutions, stated: “Safety at our front doors starts with safety on our front lines. This acquisition underscores our unwavering conviction that technology is the bedrock for protecting communities, securing borders and defending against today’s ever evolving threats, whether in the air, on the ground or in the water. As a result, we’re now expanding our intelligent network footprint and powering next-generation security for those who stand on the front lines everywhere.” The companies “expect to combine their exceptional engineering teams and leverage Motorola Solutions’ go-to-market footprint to reach customers globally,” noted Motorola. The news came on the same day that Nokia announced an agreement with German firm Blackned GmbH “to create advanced deployable tactical networks for the defence sector.”

There’s plenty of activity in Europe right now when it comes to the development of regional AI-related infrastructure that can deliver sovereign AI services and improve the overall tech and supply chain security of the region – see this article about Deutsche Telekom and the recent news from Sweden and Italy. And matters of security and sovereignty are affecting other telecom sector developments too. OneFiber Interconnect Germany is building a nationwide, 5,500km “active network for secure digital connectivity” with technology from Ciena at its heart. The operator, which is to offer “managed, high-performance, end-to-end monitored data transmission services” with wavelengths up to 1.6 Tbit/s and carrier Ethernet services up to 800 Gbit/s, is deploying Ciena’s Waveserver platform. This supports open APIs for integration with any external quantum key distribution (QKD) system, “enabling OneFiber to secure customers’ sensitive data across its network,” according to Ciena. OneFiber’s CEO, Kay Euler, stated: “Our work with Ciena represents a significant milestone in our commitment to securing Germany’s critical infrastructure. By leveraging Ciena’s innovative technology, we are empowering our customers with the highest levels of network performance, reliability and data security – attributes especially important to our government agencies.” 

We reported this week about Telstra’s new five-year strategy and how AI will impact its operations and headcount in the coming years, with CEO Vicki Brady noting that as a result of efficiencies such as the introduction of autonomous networks, the Australian operator expects to end the decade with fewer employees. Also this week, the CEO of Telstra’s main rival, Optus, has been sharing his views on AI in telecom. The Guardian reports that Stephen Rue, who joined the operator in November last year, has been highlighting how AI will supplement the roles of employees and certainly wouldn’t be replacing them altogether. “On top of AI, there’s clearly decisions that would need to be taken by humans. AI can help bring a lot of data analytics quickly to humans so they can make better decisions. For example, you’ll always need technicians in the field. You always need people building, you’ll always need people making decisions around creative, people making decisions in call centres for customers, so AI can actually supplement that,” stated Rue. But the Optus CEO, like all of his peers, needs to find fiscal as well as operational efficiencies, so while he’s saying AI won’t completely replace human staff, it might mean not as many employees will be needed in the future. 

China Mobile’s takeover offer for Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) does not reflect the true value of the company, HKBN’s CEO William Yeung told Reuters this week. Late last year, China Mobile submitted an offer to acquire HKBN for about HK$6.86bn (US$875m) and last month further signalled its intent by snapping up a 15.46% stake in HKBN from another investor. But HKBN has not accepted China Mobile’s offer and Yeung believes the company is worth more, especially given the promising start that HKBN had to its current fiscal year. It reported a 5% increase in EBITDA to HK$1.2bn (US$154m) for the six months to 28 February, even though revenues did slip slightly – by 1% to HK$5.73bn (US$732m) – due to lower handset sales. Yeung also noted that I Squared Capital, which already owns Hong Kong operator HGC Global Communications (formerly known as Hutchison Global Communications), is not (as reported elsewhere) completely out of the race as a potential bidder and that HKBN would also welcome bids from other interested parties.  

– The staff, TelecomTV