Rakuten Mobile is carrying out joint R&D activities with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile announced the opening of a lab in which the telco says it utilizes all the technologies and experiences it has gained through the deployment of its Open vRAN network in Japan.
In a release, Rakuten Mobile said that its virtualized Open vRAN verification platform is now available to operators, vendors and other enterprises, in addition to academic organizations. The telco will also expand the lab to accelerate the research and development of Open vRAN in Japan and globally, contributing to the promotion of disaggregated architecture and containerization to run cloud native network functions on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.
Rakuten Mobile noted that Open vRAN technology makes it possible to build multi-vendor networks, allowing operators to flexibly procure network equipment and reduce network construction costs.
In Japan, Rakuten Mobile has deployed Rakuten Mobile Open Innovation Lab functions in its Rakuten Cloud Innovation Lab and will also provide Open RAN technology verification environments at Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering Nakao Laboratory campuses, both of which are remotely connected to the lab. Rakuten Mobile is also carrying out joint research and development with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo as part of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) “Beyond 5G R&D Promotion Project.”
“As partner companies are able to connect to the lab remotely, Open vRAN technology verification is made possible without traveling to the testing location or building a verification environment on site, thus accelerating and simplifying the development process. Rakuten Mobile also has the ability to build technology verification capabilities in facilities owned by partner companies,” the telco said. “By sharing its experience with partner companies through the lab, Rakuten Mobile aims to make it easier for operators to carry out complex multi-vendor end-to-end connectivity tests and O-RAN specification compliance and interoperability tests. The Rakuten Mobile Open Innovation Lab utilizes the same architecture as Rakuten Mobile’s flexible, virtualized network in which the distributed unit (vDU) and centralized unit (vCU) are disaggregated. This platform makes it possible to execute test cases from multiple locations and realize a flexible Open vRAN deployment that matches the partner company’s network requirements.”
The Japanese telco also highlighted that the Rakuten Mobile Open Innovation Lab aims to support trials to optimize network design and operation through the vRAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), an intelligent component which manages and controls the RAN.
Rakuten Mobile previously reported that its 4G network reached 97% of the country’s population as of the end of the first quarter of the year.
The telco’s CTO Tareq Amin explained that the telco has already deployed nearly 270,000 cells across Japan, including cells for 4G outdoor, 4G indoor and 5G outdoor.
In the 5G segment, Rakuten Mobile had already deployed 21,500 cells across the country. In September 2020, Rakuten Mobile launched 5G services in parts of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Hokkaido, Osaka and Hyogo. The service was initially offered via Non-Stand Alone (NSA) 5G architecture.
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