Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Variante, die der US-Variante von Rakuten.com (früher Ebates) ähnelt, auch in U.K., Spain, France und Deutschland die bessere Lösung, aber das würde vermutlich bei den momentanen Rabattsätzen zu teuer, die man senken und stärker differenzieren müsste. Da man aber in diesen Länder nicht ein so mächtiges Viber wie in der Ukraine einsetzen kann, um die Differenzierungen zu kommunizieren, hat man vermutlich das aus meiner Sicht wenig aussichtsreiche Modell in U.K., Spain, France und Deutschland gewählt.

Aber vielleicht übernimmt man ja das US-/Ukraine-Modell auch in  U.K., Spain, France und Deutschland eines Tages. Und meines Erachtens könnte das dann auch als Vehikel genutzt werden, um Viber "stärker unters Volk zu bringen."  

I believe, that is okay

Rakuten Plans Its Biggest Yen Bond Sale as Mobile Losses Drain

By Ayai Tomisawa

18. November 2021, 06:40 MEZ

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc. is planning what would be its biggest yen bond sale ever next week as it pushes hard to boost its presence as a mobile phone operator.

Billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani’s Tokyo-based company is scheduled to price about 200 billion yen ($1.75 billion) of multi-tenor bonds on Nov. 26, according to underwriter Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Its previous record Japanese currency debt sale was a 182 billion yen subordinated offering in December 2018.

Rakuten launched a national mobile network in 2020 to compete against established providers, and heavy investments to build it out resulted in a $2.2 billion loss in that business last year. The company’s mobile segment posted a 105 billion yen loss in the July-September period, wiping out profits from its Internet and fintech segments.

Rakuten’s non-financial segment may struggle to break even by 2022 without a major uplift in its mobile revenue, Sharon Chen, a credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a report.

Rakuten intends to use the funds on operations, capital investment and refinancing of existing debt, according to a filing released by the company earlier this month.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...nd-deal?srnd=technology-vp  

Founded in 2011, this "Latin Uber-rival" as media likes to call them because of their market leadership in LATAM, reached a valuation of $1,4 billion in the beginning of 2018, after having raised $160 million.

In April 2021, Cabify got into the very hot and competitive last-mile delivery space "to build up a new business unit beyond traditional ride-hailing". According to Forbes, "the logistics service is being expanded to take advantage of the surge in e-commerce and online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic."

The same article reveals that Cabify has hired a new chief financial officer to finally do an IPO, something that the Spanish startup ecosystem has eagerly been waiting for since early 2019, when rumors of the company reaching this important milestone first started.

In September 2019, Cabify implied to Spanish newspaper Cinco Días that they had learnt from its American competitor Uber what not do, saying that "it would be optimal to reach profitability before doing an IPO to become a publicly traded company". Instead Management started planning for an IPO in 2020, then in March 2020, well, you know..

https://www.expandtospain.com/post/...glovo-idealista-flywire-wallbox  

Jun/20: 1,186 billion Unique ID’s

Sep/20: 1,209 billion Unique ID‘s

Dez/20: 1,237 billion Unique ID‘s

Mar/20: 1,262 billion Unique ID‘s

Jun/20: 1,285 billion Unique ID’s

Sep/20: 1,309 billion Unique ID’s

global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/

Latest IR Materials
Third Quarter 2021
View Materials
presentation material
21Q3PPT_E.pdf/Seite 25
 

from Q3/20 (Contents = 60%, Telco = 40%) to Q3/21 (Contents = 65%, Telco = 35%).

global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/

Latest IR Materials
Third Quarter 2021
View Materials
presentation material
21Q3PPT_E.pdf/Seite 26
 

17.11.2021/ Redakteur: Bernhard Lück / Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Andreas Donner

Die von HCL Technologies entwickelte Plattform HCL SMARTWiFi ist eine Wi-Fi-6-Cloud-Lösung für Communications Services Providers (CSP) und Managed Services Providers (MSP) zur zentralen Verwaltung von Access Points in groß angelegten Implementierungen mit mehreren Standorten.
HCL SMARTWiFi sei in Zusammenarbeit mit Rakuten Mobile entwickelt worden. Die Plattform werde derzeit im Netz des Betreibers in ganz Japan implementiert. „Durch unsere Partnerschaft mit HCL können wir unseren Rakuten-Mobile-Kunden in Japan und weltweit über Rakuten Symphony fortschrittliche WLAN-Management-Services anbieten“, erklärt Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer bei Rakuten Mobile.

https://www.ip-insider.de/...r-kommunikationsdienstleister-a-1073746/
 

At the end of September, Rakuten Mobile had over 30,000 4G base stations on air, up from 17,560 as of March. Yoshihisa Yamada, president of Rakuten Mobile, said another 10,000 base stations are ready to go on air and are awaiting delivery of semiconductor components. Still, he noted that with progress on the buildout, Rakuten is now importantly ready to make inroads in switching off users from its roaming partner KDDI and onto its own network. The move started gradually in October, shifting to Rakuten’s network from KDDI in 39 prefectures.

Getting onto the Rakuten network will help boost the customer experience, as Yamada noted that data is limited to a 5 GB per month cap in roaming areas, but users can take advantage of unlimited plans once they’ve transitioned.

Coming off of roaming also is expected to reduce costs for the operator starting in Q2 2022, while an increase in fee-paying customers who are rolling off free service promotions will also contribute to lower losses at that time.

https://5gnewshubb.com/2021/11/11/...en-mobile-losses-stack-up-in-q3/  

This low numbers must increase

Institutional shareholders 11.73%

Per cent of shares held by top holders
Holder Shares % Held

Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd.
AS OF 29 OCT 2021
39.90m 2.53%

Baillie Gifford & Co.
AS OF 18 NOV 2021
31.88m 2.02%

The Vanguard Group, Inc.
AS OF 31 OCT 2021
20.11m 1.27%

Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd.
AS OF 05 NOV 2021
19.33m 1.22%

Daiwa Asset Management Co. Ltd.
AS OF 29 OCT 2021
19.10m 1.21%

BlackRock Fund Advisors
AS OF 04 NOV 2021
15.82m 1.00%

FIL Investment Advisors (UK) Ltd.
AS OF 30 SEP 2021
13.12m 0.83%

JPMorgan Asset Management (Japan) Ltd.
AS OF 31 OCT 2021
10.18m 0.64%

Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co., Ltd.
AS OF 04 NOV 2021
8.33m 0.53%

Norges Bank Investment Management
AS OF 31 DEC 2020
7.58m 0.48%

https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=4755:TYO  

An one important reason for this low numbers is after my estimates the not to understand lowering of the rating through Standard & Poors to BB+ in a year, in which Rakuten got new equity capital of $ 2.2 billion and it was clear that Open RAN will working well, Rakuten Mobile increased the numbers of subsriptions strong and Rakuten Symphony won first important clients like 1&1 in Germany. The both japanese rating agencies don't follow Standard Poors and don't  change the existing ratings.

Top holdersMovers

Holder Shares bought Shares held
Pictet Asset Management SA +3.68m / +108.92% 7.06m
Fidelity Management & Research Co. LLC +1.03m / +68.96% 2.52m
Arcus Investment Ltd. -- 800.00k
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. +764.54k / +39.26% 2.71m
Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd. +549.60k / +4,468.66% 561.90k

Holder Shares sold Shares held
J.O. Hambro Capital Management Ltd. -22.57m / -100.00% 0.00
Nikko Asset Management Americas, Inc. -7.70m / -100.00% 0.00
Norges Bank Investment Management -4.01m / -34.58% 7.58m
APG Asset Management NV -1.57m / -37.43% 2.62m
Keskininen Elkevakuutusyhti Ilmarinen -1.00m / -100.00% 0.00
Data from 31 Dec 2020 - 30 Sep 2021Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.

https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=4755:TYO  

 

Fitch Revises Outlook on Rakuten International Commercial Bank to Stable; Affirms at 'A(twn)'

Fitch Ratings - Taipei - 27 Oct 2021: Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on the National Long-Term Rating on Taiwan-based Rakuten International Commercial Bank Co., LTD. (RICB) to Stable from Negative. The rating has been affirmed at 'A(twn)', while the National Short-Term Rating is affirmed at 'F1+(twn)'.

RICB's ratings are driven by Fitch's expectation of a high likelihood of institutional support from its Japanese parent, Rakuten Bank, Ltd., if needed. This is underpinned by our assessment of Rakuten Bank's intrinsic credit profile, as well as RICB's strategic importance to its parent and role in the group. We expect RICB and Rakuten Bank to develop strong synergies, as we believe Taiwan is a strategically important market for the group.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/banks/...ms-at-a-twn-27-10-2021


 

Rakuten TV expands FAST offering in Europe with 21 new channel

Written by Stuart Thomson 3 days ago

AVOD and FAST channel platform Rakuten TV has launched 21 new channels across Spain, Italy, and France as part of ongoing expansion plans across key territories.

The new additions will offer a variety of entertainment across lifestyle, nature, film, animation, music, and culture.  

All Rakuten TV linear channels are currently accessible for free on the Rakuten TV app on selected Samsung, LG and Vestel Smart TV devices. Users can launch the app with a single click through the branded remote-control button and the pre-installed app.the channels are either available immediately or set to launch within the coming months, Rakuten said.

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2021/11/18/...e-with-21-new-channels/

 

Rakuten France Leads the Way in Second-hand Marketplace

Rakuten France has a well-established reputation as a pioneer in the second-hand goods market and two out of three products sold on its platform are actually from the circular economy. In this report, we look at some recent initiatives introduced by the business to further drive sales in this area, including incentives for purchasing higher-end second-hand goods, an instant chat solution to facilitate C2C (consumer-to-consumer) exchange between private buyers and sellers, and a unique warranty program for refurbished smartphones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHzmLyvLpTc

 

wenn man den Schlusskurs in Tokio mit dem momentanen Yen-Kurs in Euro umrechnet.

Daher habe ich heute erneut nachgekauft.  

"Im Mobile-Segment verzeichnete die Rakuten-Gruppe aufgrund strategischer Investitionen in zukünftiges Wachstum, einschließlich des schneller als geplanten Ausbaus des Rakuten Mobile-Servicebereichs, Betriebsverluste in Höhe von 57.735 Millionen Yen, verglichen mit Betriebsverlusten in Höhe von 28.654 Millionen Yen im gleichen Zeitraum des vorangegangenen Geschäftsjahres.

Die Betriebsergebnisse beliefen sich auf 48.008 Mio. Yen, ein deutlicher Anstieg von +16,5 % im Vergleich zum Vorjahr, wobei Gewinne und Verluste der Geschäftsbereiche Mobile und Logistik, die Investitionen für künftiges Wachstum erfordern, sowie des Investmentgeschäfts, das erheblich von der Marktvolatilität beeinflusst wird, nicht berücksichtigt wurden."

https://www.onlinemarktplatz.de/206181/...gruppe-finanzergebnisse-q3/
 

ShopBack acquires fintech startup Hoolah

Tuesday 2 November 2021 15:20 CET | News

Singapore-based online shopping rewards app ShobBack has purchased local fintech startup Hoolah to expand its services and integrate Buy Now, Pay Later options.

Currently, ShobBack offers rewards and cashback services to consumers on properties of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and several other online retailers but aims to diversify its operational portfolio.

ShopBack received financial support from Rakuten Capital to expand its influence over the Asian online shopping market, as it gains popularity among clients. It was founded in 2014 in Singapore and provides comparison features, voucher codes, and coupons to customers across the Far East and Australia regions.

https://thepaypers.com/ecommerce/...-fintech-startup-hoolah--1252513#
 

Bund fördert Open RAN

Das BMVI unterstützt innovative Unternehmen bei der Entwicklung und Erprobung neuer, softwaregesteuerter Netztechnologien (Open RAN). Dank offener Standards und Schnittstellen können in einem Open RAN-Netz Hard- und Software voneinander entkoppelt werden – anders als in den bisherigen geschlossenen Systemen, die an einen bestimmten Hersteller gebunden sind. Das reduziert Abhängigkeiten von einzelnen Anbietern, ermöglicht mehr Wettbewerb und erlaubt, dass neue Mobilfunkgenerationen schneller und günstiger per Softwareupdate eingeführt werden können. Besondere Bedeutung hat Open RAN zudem für die Digitalisierung von Wirtschaft und Industrie. Gerade auch für die Errichtung von 5G-Campusnetzen kann Open RAN aufgrund des hohen Individualisierungsgrads der Netzarchitektur ein wichtiger Treiber sein.

https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/...startet-open-ran-foerderung.html
 

Europe urged to act now to build Open RAN ecosystem

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

A new report, published on Thursday (18 November) by five of the leading European telecommunications companies,calls on policymakers, EU member states, and industry stakeholders to “collaborate and urgently prioritize” Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN).

They say this will ensure that Europe continues to play a leading role in 5G, and in the future, in 6G.
The report says that “open, intelligent, virtualised and fully interoperable” RAN (enabling more effective and efficient mobile communications) is “essential” if Europe is to meet its target of 5G for all by 2030.

It will help drive “stronger, more resilient” supply chains and platforms, as well as promote digital autonomy and continued technology leadership, it adds.

New open and disaggregated architectures, software and hardware such as Open RAN, give operators the flexibility to extend 5G to more users in a cost-effective, secure and energy efficient way, according to the report. This “flexibility” will stimulate “greater innovation” across industries in areas such as telemedicine and smart factories, it argues.

https://www.eureporter.co/telecoms/2021/11/19/...-open-ran-ecosystem/  

The investment implications for alternative RAN are significant. New technology could save on capital expenditures and boost free cash flow by allowing for lower cost through increased competition and easier innovation. There is also greater scope for network sharing due to standardized and 'open' equipment. One greenfield company estimates that a cost-effective 5G deployment could save around 40% on capex and 30% on operating expenses.

However, real savings won't happen until there is a more established ecosystem. With 5G network rollouts well underway in Europe, the pace of Open RAN adoption is likely to be too slow to materially lower 5G capex costs near term, however the market could see notable Open RAN presence by 2025.

https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/...oms-capex-open-ran-virtual-ran  

and Service Assurance Solution

LITTLETON, Colo. and TOKYO, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) selected Rakuten Symphony's observability framework (OBF) to collect telemetry data from all network functions that will enable the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to operate and optimize the DISH 5G network.

DISH is adding Rakuten Symphony to its roster of modern telco infrastructure vendors that support OpenRAN and cloud-native technologies as a provider of Operational Support Systems (OSS) services. Together, DISH's roster of OSS vendors will aggregate service assurance, monitoring, customer experience and automation through a singular platform on the DISH 5G network.

https://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien/...urance-solution-10776592  

Dish taps Rakuten Symphony for network assurance, observability

November 24, 2021

Dish said the Rakuten Symphony’s OBF “will bring even greater visibility into the performance and operation of the network’s cloud-native features with near-real-time results.” In addition to visibility, the data collected by OBF will then be used to optimize the network through closed-loop automation, the network operator added.

Launched in August, Rakuten Symphony targets the international telecommunications market with all of Rakuten’s products, services and solutions, including the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) and Open RAN software.

Among these tools and services are service security solutions developed based on Rakuten’s experience in the Japanese market. Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin has described Japanese consumers as “quality-obsessed” and shared anecdotal stories about customers experiencing a missed call or otherwise suboptimal networking experience by sharing their stories far and wide on social media. This led to the development of new service security tools, ranging from generalized customer experience measurements to drilling to “accurate empirical data” at an individual subscriber level.

https://macprotricks.com/...hony-for-network-assurance-observability/
 

Rakuten, Sequoia, and more pour $5.4m into traveltech firm

Deepti Sri · 11 Oct 2021

Airalo, a US-based traveltech startup, raised US$5.4 million in its latest round of funding.
More funding details

• Lead investor: Rakuten Ventures

• Returning investors: Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Antler, Singtel Innov8, Wayra (Telefonica), LG Technology Ventures, Go Ventures, Ground Control, Plug and Play, and I2BF

• Stage: Series A

More company updates

• Airalo will use the new funds to expand the coverage of its global embedded SIM (eSIM) cards, grow its in-app services, and improve its user experience.

• The company aims to bring instant connectivity to users by allowing travelers to buy virtual eSIM packages. Users can download the firm’s plan directly onto their phones without having to swap their existing SIM cards.

• Airalo said it has increased the number of daily users on its platform by 15x since October 2019. It is also looking to establish partnerships in the telecom and travel industry.

• The traveltech firm previously secured US$1.9 million in seed funding from Sequoia Capital India’s scale-up program Surge, and Antler.

https://www.techinasia.com/...singtel-innov8-pour-54m-traveltech-firm  

Dish Network as systems integrator; will use Rakuten Symphony’s observability framework in its 5G network

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Alan Weissberger

Rakuten Symphony – a new, independent division of the Japanese Internet company Rakuten developed specifically to sell open RAN technologies globally – joins a growing list of Dish 5G vendors that seems to expand almost every week.

“We had gotten a lot of inquiries about the applicability of this approach to the U.S. market. So, we decided to expand in the U.S. I have formally started a few weeks ago,” Azita Arvani, GM of Rakuten Mobile Americas, told Light Reading in early 2020. The interest is mutual as Dish chairman Charlie Ergen said in February, “Rakuten is important in the sense that we’ve learned a lot from them.”

Recently, Dish said it would use Cisco for routing, IBM for automation, Spirent for testing and Equinix for interconnections – announcements noteworthy considering Dish is mere weeks from its first market launch. The ability to automatically, virtually and in parallel test new 5G Standalone services, slices and software updates in the cloud is key to Dish Network’s network strategy and its differentiation, according to Marc Rouanne, Dish EVP and chief network officer for its wireless business. Rouanne said that the ability to rapidly test and certify network software and services has been part of Dish’s vision for its network.

Dish announced more than a year ago that it would use radio management software from both Mavenir and Altiostar, when Rakuten was a major investor in Altiostar [Note 1.]

Note 1. Rakuten purchased Altiostar outright in August 2021 in a deal worth more than $1 billion. Rakuten’s purchase of Altiostar is part of the company’s broader effort to leverage its Japanese mobile network into a global business selling software, hardware and services to other network operators. The offering was initially dubbed Rakuten Mobile Platform (RMP), and then Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), but the company in August named it Symphony and said the operation targeted an addressable market of up to $100 billion.

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2021/11/23/...ramework-in-its-5g-network/  

auch schon bei Dish:

Dish adds Rakuten Symphony to 5G vendor lineup

By Bevin Fletcher Nov 24, 2021

Both Dish Network and Japan’s Rakuten Mobile are proponents of cloud-native virtualized network architecture for their respective greenfield builds. Rakuten Mobile launched a 4G network in Japan in 2020, serving as an early large-scale example. Over the summer parent and e-commerce giant Rakuten Group created Rakuten Symphony as a new unit to package and sell network technologies from the company and its ecosystem of partners, including those in the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

On the Operational Support Systems (OSS) side, Rakuten acquired startup Innoeye last year, after deploying the vendor’s software and end-to-end automation process platform to support its 4G/5G cloud in Japan. Innoeye was incorporated into RCP and now Rakuten Symphony.

Dish, meanwhile, already has a long lineup of network vendors, including Cisco, which was announced earlier this month. But it’s decision to work with Rakuten may not come as a surprise.

Dish already said it would use software from Altiostar, a U.S.-based open RAN vendor that Rakuten recently acquired at a value of $1 billion and uses both in its network and as part of Symphony’s network functions offering.

Speaking to FierceWireless at MWC Los Angeles in October, Thierry Maupile, EVP at Altiostar, said that when Altiostar became part of Symphony it brought along customers including Dish.

https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/...akuten-symphony-5g-vendor-lineup  

“Get out of the lab. I think we have done enough lab testing… This technology works, it works really well… there are huge opportunities here.”

How Germany will harness advanced connectivity honed in Japan

2 hours ago

One of Germany’s leading internet companies, 1&1, is building a groundbreaking 5G network that promises to deliver a step change in the performance of mobile connectivity. Drawing on Rakuten Mobile’s experience in Japan, 1&1 and Rakuten Symphony are setting up the network with a radical new radio architecture, called Open RAN (radio access network), in Germany – it will be the first fully virtualized mobile network in Europe.

In a panel discussion at Rakuten Optimism 2021, Michael Martin, CEO, Drillisch Netz AG and Director Mobile Radio Network, 1&1 Telecommunication SE, explained how Rakuten Mobile has paved the way for his company and other operators to take advantage of highly flexible and cost-effective Open RAN technology.
“Two, three years ago, I think the time wouldn’t have been ready, not even for a greenfield operator, to start with an Open RAN architecture immediately,” he said during a panel discussion with Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Symphony and Group CTO of the Rakuten Group, moderated by Rabih Dabboussi, Chief Revenue Officer of Rakuten Symphony. But since Rakuten has “built this Open RAN 1.0 network already in Japan, we are confident that you already made your mistakes in Japan and can take the learnings into our Germany Open RAN 2.0 network and I am very confident that we will have a successful Open RAN implementation.”

The most advanced architecture yet

In the same session, Amin described the mindset and entrepreneurship of 1&1, which is a highly successful mobile virtual network operator in Germany, as “utterly amazing,” adding: “I think we are going to do something even better than we have done in Japan.”

Noting that radio access equipment accounts for at least 70% of the capital spending required to build a cellular network, Amin explained that Open RAN technology is designed to make cellular networks as elastic as IT systems working in the cloud, meaning they can scale up and down in line with demand.

The new network will be able to heal itself, organize itself, optimize itself and be able to adapt its capacity to usage, added Amin. The net result is that end-users will enjoy better coverage and greater reliability.

Total transparency on costs

Another innovative feature of the partnership between Rakuten Symphony and 1&1 is an unprecedented level of cost transparency. “To my knowledge, this is the first contract that has ever been signed in which we guaranteed [total cost of ownership] transparency to our partner,” Amin said.

Martin described the partnership with Rakuten as one of three key pillars of its plan to deploy a 5G network in Germany. The other pillars are Open RAN and 1&1’s existing customer base, which numbers more than 10 million.

Solving the coverage conundrum

Having acquired spectrum in auctions in Germany, 1&1 now has to build 1,000 5G sites by the end of 2022 and reach 25% population coverage by 2025 and then 50% population coverage by 2030. “We are very confident that we will reach those coverage obligations even faster,” Martin said. In areas where 1&1 doesn’t have coverage, customers will be able to make use of Telefónica’s network through a national roaming agreement.

Will other operators follow suit?

As a greenfield operator, 1&1 has the advantage of building a network from scratch. But Martin encouraged brownfield operators with existing networks to also roll out Open RAN technologies. “One thing is clear…the networks that don’t change, there will be a forced change in the future,” he warned. “I am rather feeling more secure to be on the front-runner side, instead of (on) the following side.”

The industry increasingly regards Open RAN as a necessity, Amin added. “In the last six months in the industry, we all have seen a tremendous mindset shift across the board. We are stronger if the entire ecosystem believes in the same values of bringing an agile, software-driven connectivity platform,” he noted. “Get out of the lab. I think we have done enough lab testing… This technology works, it works really well… there are huge opportunities here.”

https://rakuten.today/blog/...vanced-connectivity-honed-in-japan.html