World’s First Fully Virtualized Network, From Rakuten Mobile, Deploys Thales’ Trusted Connectivity Solutions
29.6.2021 11:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Thales is playing a key role in the world’s first end-to-end cloud-native1 mobile network, operated by Rakuten Mobile, Inc., a dynamic entrant into the Japanese market. This agile mobile network operator is utilizing Thales’ comprehensive portfolio of eSIM, SIM and remote connectivity management solutions, to enable a rapid digital onboarding journey for consumers. Thales’ eSIM technology also plays a key role in the development of Rakuten Mobile’s innovative 4G and 5G smartphones.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210629005483/en/
(Photo: Business Wire)
By supporting cloud activation of eSIM-capable devices, Thales’ solutions enhance Rakuten Mobile’s digital onboarding procedures for its subscribers. Remote management of subscriptions over the device’s lifetime is similarly straightforward for users. As well as digitalising the customer experience, this digital-first strategy increases Rakuten Mobile’s operational efficiency.
Thales’ space-saving eSIM is particularly valuable for 5G devices, which currently require large antennas and batteries leaving little space for new functionality. Rakuten Mobile is using Thales’ eSIMs in its 4G & 5G smartphones: the Rakuten Mini, the Rakuten Hand and the 5G compatible Rakuten BIG.
Reflecting these benefits, the GSMA predicts there will be 2.42 billion eSIM smartphone connections worldwide by 2025. In the same year, more than 130 million 5G connections are expected in Japan alone.
“Rakuten Mobile has embarked on a journey of innovation to create a new generation of cloud-based mobile services. Thales’ innovative eSIM solutions enable us to offer a quicker, smoother onboarding process to our customers and deliver a fully digitised but secure user experience.”
Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CTO, Rakuten Mobile
“Rakuten Mobile’s strategy is focused on offering the convenience of a self-service onboarding for their customers. We are thrilled that our eSIM management solutions are helping Rakuten Mobile improve their customer experience with a secure digital enrolment and out of the box subscription delivery. This new 5G era boosted by Thales eSIM also addresses promising new consumer IoT use cases.”
Emmanuel Unguran, Thales SVP for Mobile Connectivity Solutions
1
The network architecture (from the RAN to the core) is entirely virtualized.
2 GSMA Intelligence – June 2021.
Related resource:
Infographic:
What is an eSIM: 6 illustrated answers
eBook: Best practices for optimising eSIM adoption
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing – to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers – businesses, organisations and governments – in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.
Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of €17 billion.
PLEASE VISIT
Thales Group
Market page
Download HD photos
@Thalesgroup
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/20210629005483/en/
Contact information
PRESS
Thales, Media Relations
Digital Identity and Security
Vanessa Viala
+33 (0)6 07 34 00 34
vanessa.viala@thalesgroup.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
Telekom Srbija Secures U.S. EXIM Financing to Accelerate 5G Rollout8.5.2026 12:48:00 EEST | Press release
Telekom Srbija Group today announced that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has granted final approval for financing to support the continued rollout of Telekom Srbija’s 5G network. The EXIM-supported financing will help fund the deployment of 5G telecommunications network equipment and related services in Serbia, supplied by U.S. technology companies. It marks a major milestone in Telekom Srbija’s long-term investment programme and strengthens the company’s relationship with leading U.S. financial and technology institutions. Telekom Srbija launched commercial 5G services in Serbia in December 2025 and is continuing to expand coverage nationwide. The company is targeting 5G coverage across all Serbian cities by the end of 2026, with full national coverage by the end of 2027. The financing follows EXIM’s preliminary commitment in December 2024 to support the preparation and rollout of Telekom Srbija’s 5G network, and marks a further step in Telekom Srbija’s cooperation
Philip Morris International’s Moira Gilchrist Positions Human Judgment as a Critical Leadership Advantage Amid Rapid AI Adoption at Wall Street Journal Forum8.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Philip Morris International’s (PMI) (NYSE:PM) Chief Global Communications Officer, Moira Gilchrist, joined global thought leaders at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference in New York to examine why human cognition—judgment, context, creativity, and ethical reasoning—is becoming the most valuable asset in an age of artificial intelligence. “The AI boom is putting a premium on distinctly human capabilities,” said Gilchrist, who took part in the session “Cognition: The New Currency – Why Human Judgment Matters More Than Ever.” Speaking to attendees, she emphasized that, “As knowledge is getting democratized, human judgment, intuition, and creativity become the true differentiators that leaders need to nurture across all levels of their organizations.” Philip Morris International is today a different company, built with a singular objective: achieving a smoke-free future. It has evolved its product portfolio, reskilled its workforce, and adopted new ways of working to e
Fortegra Appoints Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium8.5.2026 10:30:00 EEST | Press release
The Fortegra Group, Inc., a global specialty insurer, today announced the appointment of Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium. Mr. Röpcke brings more than 25 years of insurance industry experience to the role, spanning broking, commercial leadership, and executive management across the Benelux and broader European markets. He joins Fortegra from Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A., where he served as Country Manager for Belgium and the Netherlands, building out the operation from its early stages and overseeing both business strategy and development. Prior to Lloyd's, Mr. Röpcke held senior leadership positions at Willis Towers Watson (via Gras Savoye), where he served as Head of Sales and Head of the Competence Center. His career also includes roles at Inter Partner Assistance (AXA Assistance) as Commercial Director Benelux, Winterthur Europe Assurances, AIG Europe, Aon Belgium, and Marsh. Mr. Röpcke’s industry expertise spans a range of specialty risk areas, with deep relations
KAYTUS Launches All-QLC Flash Storage at AI EXPO 2026 for 10,000-GPU Clusters8.5.2026 10:02:00 EEST | Press release
At AI EXPO KOREA 2026, KAYTUS officially launched its All-QLC Flash Storage Solution, engineered to deliver high performance, massive scalability, and cost efficiency for 10,000-GPU clusters. The solution addresses data-delivery bottlenecks in ultra-large-scale AI training, helping maximize GPU resource utilization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508313130/en/ Based on the KR2280 and KR1180 server platforms, the solution is deeply integrated with industry-leading AI-native parallel file systems to eliminate data silos inherent in traditional tiered storage. Purpose-built for read-intensive AI workloads, it overcomes the horizontal scaling limitations of massive clusters. Verified test-data shows that, at exabyte-scale deployment, the solution delivers 10 TB/s aggregate bandwidth and 100 million IOPS. In addition, it reduces five-year TCO by 70% compared with traditional TLC-based solutions, accelerating mo
Beneq Appoints Dr. Jason Harrison as Chief Executive Officer8.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Beneq Oy, the home of atomic layer deposition (ALD), today announced the appointment of Dr. Jason Harrison as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Harrison succeeds Dr. Tommi Vainio and will lead Beneq into its next phase of growth across semiconductor, optical, and emerging technology markets. A Strategic Leadership Transition Beneq enters its next phase of growth from a position of strong commercial momentum. Recent milestones include the qualification of the Beneq Transform® cluster tool for volume production of GaN power and RF filter devices; the introduction of Beneq Transmute™ and Beneq Transform® XP, both engineered for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of specialty semiconductors; growing adoption of the P-Series for coating critical chamber parts in advanced node devices; and selection of the C2R™ for AR waveguide production in next-generation XR optics. Against this backdrop, the Board of Directors has determined that the time is right to align executive leadership with the company's
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