Rakuten Mobile and NEC Begin Production of Open RAN 5G Radio Equipment
24.3.2020 05:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Rakuten Mobile, Inc. and NEC Corporation today announced that production of the 5th generation mobile communications system (5G) radio unit (RU) jointly developed by the two companies has started at NEC Platforms, Ltd.’s Fukushima Plant, and the first unit has been shipped.
“NEC’s 5G RU, developed and produced in Japan, will play a very important role in Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized cloud native mobile network,” said Tareq Amin, Rakuten Mobile Director, Vice President and CTO. “With the launch of production of the 5G radio unit, we will begin work on the construction of our 5G base stations and will aim to provide our subscribers with a cost efficient, highly secure, high quality 5G service.”
“NEC is very proud to be part of Rakuten Mobile’s advanced 5G network,” said Atsuo Kawamura, Executive Vice President and President of the Network Services Business Unit, NEC Corporation. “The 5G RU, produced at our Fukushima Plant, conforms with open architecture standards, and comes in a compact form factor with low power consumption. By expanding the open 5G ecosystem, NEC will contribute to the creation of new mobile services around the world.”
The new domestically produced, high quality 5G RU is equipped with a 3.7 GHz frequency band massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) antenna in a compact, lightweight form factor with low power consumption. With the 5G RU, Rakuten Mobile will begin the buildout of its 5G network, starting with the construction of base stations in the Tokyo area*1, and work toward the launch of 5G commercial services in June 2020.
Rakuten Mobile is building the world’s first end-to-end fully virtualized cloud native network*2, and in October 2019 in Japan successfully implemented the world’s first open, virtualized, distributed radio access network (OpenRAN). In addition, Rakuten Mobile and NEC are also closely collaborating on BSS and OSS solutions for Rakuten Mobile’s 4G network operations.
*1 Rakuten Mobile received licenses for 5G radio stations (base stations) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for Setagaya City and Koto City on March 6, 2020.
*2 For a large scale commercial mobile network (as of October 1, 2019), Research: Stella Associa
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200323005749/en/
Contact information
Rakuten Corporate Communications Department
global-pr@mail.rakuten.com
NEC Corporate Communications Division
Joseph Jasper
j-jasper(at)nec.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Biocytogen Grants Taisho Pharmaceutical a License to its RenNano ® Fully Human Heavy Chain-Only Antibody Discovery Platform30.3.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (Biocytogen, SSE: 688796; HKEX: 02315), a global biotechnology company that drives the research and development of novel antibody-based drugs with innovative technologies, today announced that it has entered into a platform license agreement with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Taisho”), granting Taisho the right to access and use Biocytogen’s proprietary RenNano® fully human heavy chain-only antibody (HCAbs) discovery platform for its internal research and development programs. Under the terms of the agreement, Taisho will leverage RenNano® mice to enable the generation and screening of fully human HCAbs in vivo and to support downstream research associated with antibody discovery. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. “We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with Taisho,” said Dr. Yuelei Shen, President and CEO of Biocytogen. “RenNano® is a robust and powerful fully human VHH discovery platform that pro
Meiji Seika Pharma Invests in Centivax to Develop Next Generation Universal Vaccine Platform30.3.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Toshiaki Nagasato) today announced a strategic investment in Centivax, Inc. (Head Office: South San Francisco, CA, USA), a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines and therapies for universal protection against highly diverse targets. Centivax’s lead program includes a universal seasonal influenza vaccine (Centi-Flu 01) currently in a Phase 1 clinical study. Unlike conventional seasonal flu vaccines, which must be manufactured annually based on recommended candidate vaccine viruses, Centivax’s platform focuses both antibody and cellular immune responses on conserved regions of the influenza virus that cannot mutate and are shared across strains and distant subtypes. This approach aims to generate broad, consistent, and durable immunity against both seasonal and pandemic influenza. Meiji’s strategic investment aims to accelerate the advancement of Centi-Flu 01 and further a
Samsung Biologics Strike: Labor Union Warns of CDMO Supply Chain Risks Following Overwhelming Vote30.3.2026 12:52:00 EEST | Press release
The Samsung Biologics Labor Union (President: Jaesung Park), representing approximately 75% of the company's total employees, announced today that its members have overwhelmingly voted in favor of a strike, with 95.52% voting in favor on a 95.38% turnout during a voting period from March 24 to March 29. Following the Incheon Regional Labor Relations Commission's decision to cease mediation, the union has now secured the legal mandate to strike. The union stressed that this strike is not merely a wage dispute. It stems from deep structural concerns regarding the company’s ESG management, lack of operational autonomy, and passive labor relations. Primarily, the union highlighted unresolved corporate governance issues, including allegations concerning unfair labor practices and the unauthorized use of employee personal data, which were prominently reported by South Korea's major broadcaster, MBC, in November 2025. The union believes this crisis stems from management's failure to address r
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) Launches with a Record-Breaking $300 Million Guaranteed Prize Pot, Defining a New Era for Showjumping30.3.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) launches with a record-breaking $300 million guaranteed prize pot, defining a new era for showjumping. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330990938/en/ Photography credits: Daniel Benson for The Premier Jumping League/ Wieden+Kennedy London Backed by McCourt Global and its Executive Chairman, Frank McCourt, the PJL is a groundbreaking global competition that elevates high-performance riders and horses to their rightful place on the world stage. Built on merit, integrity, and excellence, the PJL brings together the world’s best athletes to compete for the biggest prize pot in the discipline’s history, helping to create a more resilient, long-term financial model for the sport. Represented by sixteen teams, the PJL will introduce an industry-first rider selection process from a pool of 250 of the world’s leading riders. World-class, immersive events will unfold across fourteen ic
Dompé Announces First Patient Enrolled in New Study of Intranasal NGF in Cerebral Palsy30.3.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Dompé, a leading biopharmaceutical company with operations in Italy and in the U.S., announced that the first patient has been enrolled at the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Hospital in Rome, Italy, in a Phase 2 investigational study of an intranasal form of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) (Cenegermin-bkbj) for the treatment of spastic cerebral palsy (CP). On top of safety and tolerability, the study will evaluate improvements in daily functioning, quality of life, motor abilities, and neurodevelopmental measures of the Cenegermin-bkbj intranasal formulation. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood, caused by injury or changes during early brain development. The most prevalent form, spastic CP, leads to muscle stiffness and difficulty with movement.2 “Cerebral palsy is a devastating disease, and for patients and families there are still no proven treatments beyond supportive care,” said Marcello Allegretti, Chief Scientific Officer at Dompé. “With our emerging intranasal NGF p
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom