Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Rakuten Mobile Successfully Verifies Data Transfer on 5G Standalone Mobile Network

Tokyo, July 12, 2021 - Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that it has successfully verified data transfer on a 5G Standalone (SA) mobile network with the collaboration of Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) on July 4, 2021, at Tokyo Tech’s Ookayama Campus.

In 5G SA networks, 5G technology is used throughout the network, from the radio access network (RAN) to the core network. 5G SA is expected to enable operators to leverage the high capacity and high speed, low latency and massive multi-connectivity of 5G. In addition, advanced network control allows for end-to-end network slicing which will enable operators to provide services that are optimized for a wide variety of network uses.

Data transmission was carried out using a 5G SA-compatible device on the 5G network at the campus, verifying the stable operation of 5G SA. In line with its original plans, Rakuten Mobile has already begun deploying 5G SA functions on part of its commercial 5G network on June 24, 2021. Rakuten Mobile will leverage the results of the verification to improve the quality of its 5G SA network and in preparations for the full launch of commercial services.

Rakuten Mobile plans to conduct further trials of other 5G SA functions, including network slicing and edge computing. Rakuten Mobile is also collaborating with Tokyo Tech on other trials utilizing 5G networks and the two organizations are developing technologies for applications of 5G to benefit society.

Rakuten Mobile’s 5G SA network runs on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). Using containers and microservices, all functions from the RAN to the core network run as cloud-native network functions (CNF).

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What does the future telco network look like?

We can get an indication of what a fully disaggregated and ‘cloudified’ network architecture might look like – and where the service orchestration and automation layer fits in – by looking at the Rakuten Communication Platform (RCP).

Developed by Japan’s disruptive Rakuten Mobile, which has a fully virtualised and end-to-end mobile network up and running in Tokyo and other Japanese cities, RCP purports to be a fully integrated software stack that is ‘carrier-grade’. RCP’s foundation cloud infrastructure layer is what Rakuten Mobile calls “a telco-hardened” Docker container architecture, which can support both virtual machines and containers.

On top that is the network functions layer (radio, core, and IMS, for example), and above that sits the all-important RCP Automator layer that can lower operational costs and enable swift delivery services, along with dynamic allocation of network resources to meet demand as and when it arises. Underpinning the RCP Automator layer is artificial intelligence and machine learning. They enable “intelligent operations”. The top RCP layer is the ‘marketplace’, still in development, which is designed to function like an app-store. The idea is to make it easier for other operators to deploy their own end to end virtualized networks.

The RCP concept is unlikely to be restricted to Japan. Rakuten Mobile has held discussions with operators in the US, Europe and Asia about collaborating on the platform and improving it. This month, Telefónica signed an MoU with Rakuten Mobile to do exactly that.

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