SoftBank Corp. joins TM Forum as IT Transformation Imperative Impacts Telecom Industry

### TM Forum’s Open APIs and Frameworx best practices and standards implementation is priority for Japanese telecommunications company; 10 of world’s top 10 service providers are now TM Forum members

London, UK — FEBRUARY 18, 2020 — TM Forum, the industry association driving digital transformation through collaboration, announced today that SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) has joined the organization in order to benefit from TM Forum’s Collaboration program, Open APIs, Open Digital Architecture and Frameworx best practices and standards, including the Business Process Framework (eTOM) and Information Framework (SID).

With SoftBank, [ten of the world’s top ten](https://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#industry:Telecommunications services) communications service providers are now TM Forum members.

SoftBank’s IT transformation

SoftBank is a carrier that operates in a wide variety of business areas, including mobile and fixed-line telecommunication services for consumers and enterprises, and cloud, AI and IoT solution services for enterprises. A leading digital service provider, SoftBank is undergoing IT transformation focused on defragmenting its IT systems and upskilling its staff for the digital decade ahead.

TM Forum’s George Glass (left) and SoftBank’s MakizonoSan celebrate SoftBank’s TM Forum membership in Tokyo, Japan.

On joining TM Forum, Keiichi Makizono, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, SoftBank said, “In 2020, we will start to see the global adoption of 5G which will in turn drive digitalization across a variety of industries. SoftBank is moving into this new era by focusing on building a next-generation telecommunication system which requires IT and business agility and the creation of a digital workforce. We are thrilled to join the TM Forum community and collaborate with like-minded ecosystem partners and operators to build the industry’s future together.”

Welcoming SoftBank to the Forum, Nik Willetts, CEO, TM Forum, said, “Businesses around the world are waking up to the importance of business and IT agility to being able to thrive in the 5G era.” He added, “On behalf of our global member community, I warmly welcome SoftBank and look forward to their active participation in our collaborative industry transformation programs. In this new decade it is more important than ever to collaborate to compete and transform to create open digital ecosystems and unlock business growth.”

View TM Forum’s member directory here. Learn more about membership by contacting Rhea Chamberlain via email: [email protected] .