Rakuten Mobile and NEC will jointly develop a containerised standalone (SA) 5G core network (5GC) to be used in Rakuten Mobile's fully-virtualised cloud-native 5G network, the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).
Through the move, Rakuten Mobile and NEC aim
to drive innovation in global mobile technology and provide high-quality
5G network technology to customers both in Japan and around the world.
The two companies will collaborate to build a Japan-made 5GC, based on the 5GC software source code developed by NEC. Subsequent to the launch of its non-standalone (NSA) 5G service in 2020, Rakuten Mobile aims to provide its SA 5G service in Japan in 2021. NSA 5G has some reliance on existing earlier-generation infrastructure, whereas SA 5G is independent of older infrastructure.
The containerised 5GC will also play a key role in the global expansion of RCP, a platform aimed at offering solutions and services for the deployment of customisable virtualised networks at speed and low cost by telecom companies and enterprises around the world. The 5GC will be offered as an application on the RCP Marketplace for quick and easy acquisition and deployment.
Said Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive VP and CTO of Rakuten Mobile: "Our partnership with NEC represents a joint collaboration to build an open, secure, and highly scalable 4G and 5G cloud-native converged core, that will also become a key feature of the highly-competitive services we will offer to global customers through the Rakuten Communications Platform."
"Following the BSS/OSS for the 4G network and 5G radio equipment that we have already begun offering, we look forward to providing a high-quality, highly reliable 5GC and contributing to Rakuten Mobile's 5G services," said Atsuo Kawamura, Executive VP and President of the Network Services Business Unit, NEC. BSS/OSS stands for business support system/operations support system.
Rakuten Mobile is a Rakuten Group company responsible for mobile communications, including mobile network operator (MNO) and mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) businesses, as well as ICT and energy.
NEC is a specialist in the integration of IT and network technologies.
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