Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
The creator, or influencer marketing industry is growing rapidly, and Rakuten is contributing to that growth with its very own creator marketing business. Collective Voice, formerly known as ShopStyle Collective, is a leading partner in connecting creators and marketers in the US, providing campaign services and monetization tools among other things. On the occasion of its rebrand, we spoke to leading figures within the organization to find out what is driving Collective Voice's success and how it is supporting both creators and brands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbi55bHGbU
The global open RAN market size was valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to hit around USD 32 billion by 2033, poised to grow at a CAGR of 33.40% from 2024 to 2033.
Key Takeaways
North America contributed 45% of market share in 2023.
Asia-Pacific is estimated to expand the fastest CAGR between 2024 and 2033.
By component, the hardware segment has held the largest market share of 49% in 2023.
By component, the services segment is anticipated to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 35.3% between 2024 and 2033.
By unit, the radio unit segment generated over 39% of the market share in 2023.
By unit, the distributed unit segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR over the projected period.
By deployment, the hybrid cloud segment generated 50% of the market share in 2023.
By deployment, the private cloud segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR over the projected period.
https://www.precedenceresearch.com/open-ran-market
Tokyo, April 16, 2024 - Rakuten Bank, Ltd. and Rakuten Securities, Inc. today announced that Money Bridge, a service connecting customers’ Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities accounts, has surpassed 5 million accounts as of April 16, 2024.
Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities began offering Money Bridge in April 2011 to improve the convenience of services for private asset building and management. Anyone with both a Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities account can apply for a Money Bridge account free of charge. Once setup is complete, users can use the automatic deposit and withdrawal (sweep) function, which saves them the trouble of transferring funds manually between accounts. In addition, a preferential interest rate is applied on ordinary deposit accounts, while Rakuten Points are awarded for transactions made using Rakuten Securities. This user-friendly and efficient system, combined with the ability to earn Rakuten Points, has been embraced by Rakuten members, leading to the milestone of 5 million Money Bridge accounts.
In addition to Money Bridge, Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities have expanded their customer base through a range of services utilizing the Rakuten Ecosystem. As a result of these initiatives, Rakuten Bank became the first digital bank in Japan to reach 15 million accounts in February 2024, and Rakuten Securities surpassed 10.2 million general securities customer accounts at the end of December 2023, marking the largest number of non-consolidated securities accounts (based on disclosed information) among Japanese securities companies. Many customers are attracted by the convenience of these entirely online fintech services, which never require a visit to a physical location.
Going forward, Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities are committed to effectively utilizing the strengths of the Rakuten Group to deliver innovative and convenient services that surpass those offered by traditional digital banks and online securities companies.
About Money Bridge
Money Bridge is a free service that anyone with both a Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities account can apply for. Once setup is complete, users can use a sweep function that automatically transfers funds between the two accounts. This eliminates the need for users to manually make deposits and withdrawals, resulting in a more seamless transaction experience.
When making transactions using Rakuten Securities, insufficient funds are automatically withdrawn from the Rakuten Bank account’s deposit balance.
Funds from the Rakuten Securities account are automatically deposited to the Rakuten Bank account in the evening after each business day. These funds are automatically deposited into an account with a preferential interest rate.
Customers can also earn Rakuten Points when using Rakuten Securities by applying for the Happy Program, provided by Rakuten Bank.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/0416_02.html
The second is that Rakuten Mobile is serving as a test drive for our technology, proving that it works. This has already borne fruit with the launch of 1&1’s network in Germany, built in partnership with Rakuten Symphony. Subscribers in Germany are already moving to Europe’s first cloud-native mobile network built on Open RAN standards.
The third is Rakuten Mobile’s contribution to our ecosystem. We already had e-commerce, credit card, banking and some of the richest data in the world. And this data is telling compelling stories.
Rakuten Mobile subscribers are buying 60% more from Rakuten Ichiba. They spend twice as much on our travel offerings and use our credit card and banking services more as well. With mobile as the next major pillar, our ecosystem is even stronger.
https://rakuten.today/mickeysvoice/...ile-networks-in-the-ai-age.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94D68j8mhZc
Plans Designed To Maximize Earnings and Minimize Fees
Jersey City, N.J., April 4, 2024 — Bluevine, the all-in-one digital banking platform specifically designed for small businesses, today announced it will provide customers three different options for their Bluevine Business Checking account – so they can choose the plan that does the most to unlock additional growth for their business. With Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) ranging from 2.0% to 4.25%, business owners can immediately maximize the returns on their business checking deposits.
Customers on the Premier and Plus plans can also enjoy discounted costs on most standard payment fees, and no monthly fees based on qualifying balances and combined monthly spending activity across Bluevine Business Debit Mastercard and Bluevine Business Cashback Mastercard®1 credit card. Business owners can sign up for a one-month free trial of Plus and Premier plans, or select the Standard plan with no monthly fee, balance requirement, or minimum deposit.
https://www.bluevine.com/newsroom/...imize-earnings-and-minimize-fees
Onsa Mustafa Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024
Viber, a widely used messaging app, has recently introduced an innovative feature that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to provide users with concise summaries of unread messages in group chats. Viber developed this new AI-powered chat summarizer in collaboration with OpenAI. It aims to streamline communication by extracting essential information from up to 100 unread messages, thereby saving users valuable time.
The AI summaries generated by Viber offer clear and organized bullet-point overviews, highlighting key decisions, tasks, and important discussion threads within the group chat. This functionality is particularly beneficial in various scenarios, such as parents managing their children’s busy schedules, groups of friends coordinating events, or travel companions finalizing trip details.
The AI summarizer is currently available to Viber users on both iOS and Android platforms in select regions, including the US, the Philippines, Ukraine, Japan, Bulgaria, and Poland. Furthermore, Viber offers extensive language support, covering over 50 languages, with plans to expand availability to more countries in the near future.
In conclusion, Viber’s introduction of the AI-powered chat summarizer represents a significant step forward in enhancing communication efficiency within group chats. With its focus on user privacy and convenience, this feature has the potential to redefine how users interact with messaging apps, paving the way for further innovation in the field of AI-driven communication tools.
https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/...rizer-to-beat-whatsapp-and-telegram/
Rakuten Launches 'Rakuten PLAY,' A Streaming Guide For Leading Video On Demand Services In Japan
Tokyo, June 20, 2024 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced the launch of "Rakuten PLAY," a video streaming guide that aggregates and showcases content from Rakuten TV and various other leading video-on-demand services in Japan.
https://www.publicnow.com/view/...44550D3A12F57179BDFBC30E?1718858896
8 hours ago
Rakuten Optimism made a successful return to the U.S. after a five-year hiatus, debuting a dynamic new format and feel. Held during the last week of May in sunny, Carlsbad, CA, the flagship event brought together nearly 1,000 marketing leaders and professionals under the theme “Fueling Meaningful Connections.”
Organizers of this year’s Optimism boldly reimagined Rakuten Advertising’s influential Dealmaker event by expanding the audience to include retail clients, agencies and brand partners from Rakuten Rewards in addition to its core audience of advertisers and publishers. The result was an enhanced conference experience with deeper networking opportunities and impactful content that addressed the attendees’ most pressing business needs.
Rewarding experiences and content
The connections began the moment guests arrived. Upon registration, each attendee received a wristband linked to a series of Rewarding Experiences offered throughout the three-day event. Attendees earned points for participation in various activities along with chances to win prizes with their progress tracked in the Rakuten Optimism app. The app also helped them navigate the daily schedule of presentations and wellness events, such as yoga and pickleball, and arrange client meetings in one of many connection rooms or outdoor spaces.
The Optimism agenda was filled with insightful panel discussions that dove into some of the most significant trends and advancements in affiliate marketing and e-commerce. Topics ranged from integrating card-linked offers and diverse partners into performance marketing to harnessing the power of micro-influencers. Consumer trends in travel and data-driven, full-funnel performance strategies were also explored.
Session Discussions
Innovate, Connect, and Reward with AI
The Rise of Parasocial Relationships
Winning Her Business: Connect with the World’s Most Powerful Consumer Market
Fueling Virality: Unlocking the Potential of Rising Creators
World Class Affiliate: A True Global Approach to Affiliate Marketing
Main stage star power
Jason Sudeikis, star of the popular TV series “Ted Lasso,” proved to be a perfect choice as the headline speaker. The Emmy award-winning actor, comedian, producer and writer drew a standing-room-only crowd to hear him share his creative process of building human connections through storytelling.
Omar Johnson, the marketing genius behind Beats by Dre, captivated the audience with his insights on the importance of a human-centric approach to building a brand’s authentic sense of purpose. And Rakuten International CEO Amit Patel also took the main stage in front of a full house where he announced the upcoming launch of Rakuten+, the expansion of Rakuten into the UK, and emphasized the value of forums like Optimism for building critical industry connections and sharing insightful and inspiring ideas.
“When you leave here, you’ll feel like you’ve fueled meaningful connections with the people in this room,” Patel told the crowd. “And taken away lessons learned and ideas and inspiration about how you can fuel meaningful connections with your audience.”
Keynote Sessions
B2H: Business to Human Marketing – Omar Johnson, ØPUS United
Executive Remarks – Amit Patel, Rakuten International CEO
A Conversation with Jason Sudeikis – Jason Sudeikis, interviewed by Monica Padman
Celebration and recognition
Evenings were reserved for celebration and fun. The Golden Link Awards, hosted by comedian Preacher Lawson, recognized the successes of partners within the Rakuten Advertising Network. Golden Hour and After Glow parties offered food, drink, a photo booth, live Taiko drummers, a DJ and an electric atmosphere to forge new business relationships.
Rakuten Optimism received a notable number of positive responses from attendees in the event’s post-event survey, solidifying a successful return to the U.S. in what the company aims to be a premier marketing event in the region.
https://rakuten.today/blog/...ism-us-fuels-connections-and-vibes.html
US-based Rakuten Medical has announced positive interim data from the Phase Ib/II trial of its photoimmunotherapy, ASP-1929, in combination with Merck & Co (MSD)’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Following the positive results, the company now plans to start a global Phase III clinical trial evaluating the combination therapy of ASP-1929 and Keytruda as first-line therapy in recurrent HNSCC in the second half of this year. The study’s primary endpoint will be overall survival.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...munotherapy-keytruda-130644428.html
JUN 24 2024 13:30 BST
MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 24, 2024-- AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones designed for both commercial and government use, today announced the appointment of Chris Sambar to its Board of Directors, effective June 20.
https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/..._USPRX____20240624_BW944397-1
- Rakuten's businesses in Taiwan unite to deliver a comprehensive brand experience and support its pro baseball team
Taipei, June 25, 2024 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced the full program for the Rakuten Super Game set to take place on July 5, when the Rakuten Monkeys take on the Fubon Guardians at the Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium in Taiwan. This event is part of the Super Summer Series 2024, a series of title-sponsored professional sports matches featuring Vissel Kobe, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Rakuten Monkeys.
A renowned team in Taiwan's professional baseball league, the Rakuten Monkeys not only excel on the field but also play a central role in showcasing the Taiwan Rakuten Ecosystem. This includes Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Card, Rakuten International Bank, Rakuten Kobo, Rakuten Travel, Rakuten Insight and the Rakuten Japan Official Flagship Store. For the first time, Rakuten Medical will also participate in this year’s event.
Together, these entities will present a variety of brand activities at the stadium, offering fans a comprehensive experience and rallying support for the Rakuten Monkeys. Held under the banner of “A Better Future Together,” Rakuten is aiming to realize “A Greener Future” and “Sports for Everyone.”
Yoshinori Kawada, General Manager of the Rakuten Monkeys, commented, “Through the Rakuten Super Game, we hope fans will not only enjoy the exciting match but also experience the diverse services of the Rakuten Ecosystem, strengthening the bond between the team and our fans.”
About the Rakuten businesses participating in Rakuten Super Game
As the 2024 CPBL season enters its second half, the Monkeys uphold one of Rakuten’s guiding principles, “Always Improve, Always Advance.” Continuous efforts have been made to enhance the team's performance, complemented by recent stadium renovations to optimize services. The Rakuten Super Game will further these initiatives by integrating various ecosystem businesses, providing fans with a comprehensive brand experience that showcases its diverse offerings.
In celebration of the Rakuten Super Game, Rakuten’s business units will mobilize to bring a variety of booth activities and promotions. At the Rakuten Ichiba booth, visitors can sample delicious treats from special packs sponsored by Hi Tao Ke, Freshdays Shop and Want Want. Rakuten International Bank and Rakuten Card will hold exclusive lucky draw events, inviting fans to participate by presenting their Rakuten credit or debit cards to enter a lucky draw and win prizes on the spot. The Rakuten Kobo booth will showcase their latest eReaders with limited-time discount offers. Additionally, purchases with account registration will receive a NT$300 book voucher.
The Rakuten Japan Official Flagship Store will distribute samples of the popular Japanese skincare brand Attenir and offer limited-time discounts on Rakuten Monkeys umbrellas. Fans who purchase the umbrellas will receive photo opportunities with members of the Rakuten Girls, the official cheerleading squad of the Rakuten Monkeys. Following the Rakuten Japan Official Flagship Store account on Facebook or Instagram will offer participants a chance to win tickets to the Rakuten Super Baseball Game on August 1 at Tokyo Dome. This game will feature the Rakuten Eagles facing off against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, promising an exciting matchup in one of Japan's most iconic stadiums.
Rakuten Travel and Rakuten Insight have prepared special gifts for new members and social media followers to take home. Rakuten Medical will set up a head and neck cancer education Q&A booth, where participants can receive exclusive gifts by checking in and sharing on social media. Additionally, this year's “A Better Future Together” series of activities will offer exclusive trading cards featuring Rakuten Monkeys players and Rakuten Girls cheerleaders, as well as a “mystery gift” for participating in specific booth activities.
Expanding Collaborations and Enriching Fan Experiences
In addition to Rakuten businesses, this year’s event will also feature expanded external collaborations. One notable partnership features YouBike, which will run a special promotion from July 1 to September 30. Fans who ride YouBike for 15 or more days in Taoyuan City during this period will receive a chance to win tickets*2 to Rakuten Monkeys home games in the second half of the season.
Kawaii Mama, a brand dedicated to providing family-friendly products and activities, will also participate in the Rakuten Super Game for the first time. They will offer a variety of family activities and gifts, inviting fans to join the “Kawaii Mama Festival” Japanese-style family fair.
YiaHuei Chen, Rakuten’s Taiwan Ecosystem Manager, commented, "We are excited to welcome these innovative partnerships to this year’s event and look forward to bringing fresh dynamics to the Rakuten Ecosystem, providing consumers with richer and more diverse experiences."
The Taiwan Rakuten Ecosystem invites fans to join them at the stadium on July 5 to cheer for the Rakuten Monkeys. Going forward, Rakuten aims to inspire more individuals to enjoy sports and reflect on their future role in society. By leveraging the strength of its Taiwan ecosystem, Rakuten will continue to deliver comprehensive brand experiences and support for the Rakuten Monkeys, contributing to the sustainable development of the broader sports community.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/update/2024/0625_01.html
Open RAN is on the rise as it matures from promise to commercial networks, reducing mobile operator OPEX with a combination of architecture flexibility, power efficiency and performance. Collaborations amongst ecosystem players have also solidified, boosting the infrastructure industry and unlocking Open RAN’s potential. Join this session to hear from industry leaders about the state of Open RAN commercialization and what to expect as deployment scale accelerates.
https://the-network-media-group.squarespace.com/...l-deployment-62r4t
May 24, 2024
In this video, Sricharan Mahavadi (Director of Enterprise Solutions, Customer Success Department of Rakuten Cloud) shared the intricacies of running VM workloads on Kubernetes, focusing on the storage solutions and challenges involved. Why Watch? Gain insights into the benefits of a unified orchestration platform for VMs and containers. Learn about the key considerations for choosing the right storage solution for your VM workloads. See how Rakuten Cloud-Native Storage can simplify storage management and enhance performance for your Kubernetes deployments. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth tech content!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd0Ri631k8
April 30, 2024
At Futurenet World 2024, Rakuten Symphony's Vivek Chadha joined Telenor's Terje Jensen for an engaging Fireside Chat titled "The Open Telco and the Journey to Cloud Native." Watch to explore the full potential of openness and what it means for operators and discover the benefits a cloud-native approach contributes to the journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXfc6ImKgJ4
June 21, 2024
In this video, Subha Shrinivasan (Head of Global Services Division at Rakuten Symphony) delves into how Rakuten Cloud is enhancing customer experience through advanced observability and monitoring tools. Learn about the suite of products designed to provide fine-grained visibility into the cloud and storage platforms, and the onboarding frameworks that ensure a seamless transition to Rakuten Cloud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSBvbsqo6Fw
Tokyo, June 27, 2024 – Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, today launched commercial services using the “platinum band” 700 MHz spectrum allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Leveraging the expertise gained by building its nationwide fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network based on Open RAN standards in the 1.7 GHz band, Rakuten Mobile has swiftly rolled out commercial services in the 700 MHz band. Going forward, the company will continue expanding platinum band services using Rakuten Mobile's network of base stations, starting with remaining coverage gaps.
In addition to deploying 700 MHz base stations, Rakuten Mobile will expand its 5G (Sub6) network coverage in the Kanto region up to 60% compared to January 2024 by year’s end, as measures preventing interference between mobile and satellite communications in shared bandwidth have been relaxed. Furthermore, the company is significantly improving its 5G network speed and stability through software upgrades for its nationwide network of 5G (Sub6) base stations, and expects to enable smoother transitioning between 4G and 5G through the optimization of base station parameters.
As part of its ongoing commitment to provide best-in-class mobile services, Rakuten Mobile continues to enhance the quality of its network through a range of initiatives. These include expanding and optimizing roaming areas in cooperation with its domestic roaming partner, developing shared base stations for subways, railway lines, railway tunnels and underground shopping centers, and continuing to expand its own 4G and 5G base station network.
Rakuten Mobile is committed to further enhancing its network quality so that customers can enjoy best-in-class mobile services anywhere in Japan.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/0627_01.html
Rakuten Symphony UK Managing Director Nastasi Karaiskos on our UK Open RAN Experience Center
June 14, 2024
Nastasi Karaiskos, Managing Director, Rakuten Symphony UK sits down for an interview at our UK Open RAN Experience Center in Weybridge, Surrey with James Dartnell, Director, Corporate Communications EMEA at Rakuten Symphony. In this interview, Nastasi shares details about the work being done at the center which acts as a testing ground and staging environment for Rakuten Symphony's product BUs. Watch the video to learn more about how the facility helps Rakuten Symphony showcase an example of a complete end-to-end Open RAN network to customers, partners and also governments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlwTaUJumXc
June 17, 2024
In this insightful conversation, Robert Adolph (Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of CIQ) shares how our partnership with CIQ is driving exceptional transformation experiences for our customers. Learn about the engineering-level collaboration, cost optimization, and 24/7 support that are key to our joint success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAb8U0MrOfE
Breakeven in sight for Open Ran operator in long campaign against established carriers NTT Docomo, KDDI and Softbank
By SCOTT FOSTER MARCH 30, 2024
Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s upstart mobile telecom network operator, sees light at the end of the financial tunnel as subscriber growth heads toward breakeven on an operating cash flow basis in 2024.
https://asiatimes.com/2024/03/...n-mobile-making-gains-with-open-ran/
- Increase of base station transmission power and software upgrades significantly improve 5G network speed and stability
Tokyo, June 27, 2024 - Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, today announced that it has increased its 5G (Sub6) base station traffic capacity approximately 130% per network cell, increased the number of unique 5G users by approximately 50%, and doubled its average network speed in Tokyo, compared with its previous results for the region, by taking measures to increase the capacity of its 5G (Sub6) base stations.
The network performance improvement is partly due to the easing of measures preventing interference between mobile wireless networks and satellite communications in shared bandwidth frequencies. Rakuten Mobile is now able to increase the radio transmission output power of its existing 5G base stations across the Kanto region and aims to gradually expand its 5G network coverage area across the region by up to 60% by the end of 2024, compared to January 2024. In addition, Rakuten Mobile is enhancing the speed and stability of its 5G network by upgrading the software for 5G (Sub6) base stations nationwide by the end of June 2024, as well as enabling smoother transitions between 4G and 5G network connections through the optimization of base station parameters.
Rakuten Mobile has built a nationwide fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network based on Open RAN standards, deploying a total of 17,210 5G outdoor base stations as of the end of May 2024. The company has succeeded in extending beamforming in massive MIMO by upgrading the software for Rakuten Symphony’s Distributed Unit (DU) and Centralized Unit (CU) wireless access devices used in its 5G base stations. The DUs and CUs developed by Rakuten Symphony are fully compatible with virtualization, allowing for quick upgrades to the base station software running on the virtualized platform.
Rakuten Mobile is also rolling out improvement measures across the Nagoya and Osaka regions. In the Nagoya region, 5G traffic capacity has grown approximately 30% and the number of users by roughly 10%, while in the Osaka region, 5G traffic capacity has grown approximately 70%, the number of users by roughly 40%, and the average network speed has increased approximately 60%. Rakuten Mobile expects to further improve the quality of its nationwide network by continuing to roll out these measures across other regions in Japan.
As part of its ongoing commitment to provide best-in-class mobile connectivity services, Rakuten Mobile has continued to enhance the quality of its network through the expansion of mobile service coverage areas and the improvement and optimization of its network. In recognition of these efforts, Rakuten Mobile has been named by Opensignal, global provider of network experience and market performance insights, as Japan’s mobile network leader in the Games Experience, 5G Upload Speed, 5G Download Speed, Upload Speed Experience and Voice App Experience categories, and joint leader in the Live Video Experience and Video Experience categories in its April 2024 Report.
Rakuten Mobile will continue to enhance its nationwide mobile network quality so that more consumers can have access to and enjoy Rakuten Group’s ecosystem of more than 70 services.
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/...20240627_01_lang_en
Tokyo, June 27 (Jiji Press)--Rakuten Mobile Inc. on Thursday launched its own commercial service using a so-called platinum band, a frequency range that allows easier access to wireless networks even indoors, the Japanese company said.
The company launched the platinum band service in a Tokyo area. It plans to expand the service gradually, putting priority on areas in major cities where signals are weaker.
Rakuten Mobile Chairman Hiroshi Mikitani said in a press briefing that platinum band signals are stronger and can reach crowded places or underground from corner to corner.
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2024062700977/...-band-service.html