Rakuten Symphony Expanding Operations: Supporting Transformation of the Mobile Industry in Europe
Today, Rakuten Symphony announced the next phase of its international growth with expansion in Europe. The company will expand its operations across the UK, France and Germany to support the transformation of mobile network operations and promote the adoption of Open RAN technologies in the region.
Mobile network operators and governments turn to Open RAN technologies
As the home to some of the world’s largest telco vendors and operators, Europe presents a unique opportunity for Rakuten Symphony. “Europe is a mature market for mobile network infrastructure and yet mobile network operators and governments are incredibly open to the opportunities Open RAN technologies can bring to the region,” explained Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Symphony.
“We will collaborate closely with European operators, vendors, governments and academic institutions to contribute to developing the region’s Open RAN technologies, while working to realize our vision of providing a future-proof, cost-effective, cloud-based connectivity platform to transform the delivery of telecommunications services by mobile network operators.”
Tareq Amin, CEO, Rakuten Symphony
For Amin, openness and collaboration are the keys to success of the strategy in Europe. “We will collaborate closely with European operators, vendors, governments and academic institutions to contribute to developing the region’s Open RAN technologies, while working to realize our vision of providing a future-proof, cost-effective, cloud-based connectivity platform to transform the delivery of telecommunications services by mobile network operators.”
Local operations become hubs for European tech talent
Rakuten Symphony’s operations in key European markets will strengthen the company’s local presence and its ability to serve customers in the region. The local operations will also be attractive hubs for the next generation of European tech talent to develop advanced and innovative technologies.
In the UK, under the leadership of Nastasi Karaiskos, Rakuten Symphony UK will focus on 4G and 5G Open vRAN software and hardware development and testing. It will leverage and expand on the R&D center and Open RAN engineering lab of Rakuten Symphony company Altiostar Networks.
“Our cloud-native networks are transforming the global industry landscape with the first fully virtualized mobile networks.”
Nastasi Karaiskos, General Manager, Rakuten Symphony UK
“At Rakuten Symphony UK, we have brought together a wide range of technological expertise and created a next-gen lab for testing and development for our customers. We have built our Open RAN software and international telco products, services and solutions for other operators who wish to run their networks in the cloud,” said Karaiskos. “This is an exciting time as we revolutionize communications. The UK is leading with its commitments to support 35% of network traffic delivered over open RAN architecture by 2030. Our cloud-native networks are transforming the global industry landscape with the first fully virtualized mobile networks.”
Across the channel, Rakuten Symphony France will be established to lead local efforts to expand the adoption of Rakuten Symphony’s products, services and solutions in the country. Based in Paris, the unit is led by Olivier Alluis. Alluis is also responsible for Rakuten Symphony’s Digital Experience division, looking after BSS (Business Support Systems), digital business platforms and the international wholesale business, and drawing on talent from the existing technology center in Montpellier.
“We are very proud of the world’s first virtualized cloud-native Open RAN network we successfully deployed in Japan, and we want to contribute to the development of a rich Open RAN ecosystem in France.”
Olivier Alluis, CEO, Rakuten Symphony France
“By establishing Rakuten Symphony France, we will further reinforce our capacity toward offering our innovative mobile network solutions to telco operators and to enterprise customers in France,” commented Alluis. “France has a long history of pioneering telecommunication innovations. We are very proud of the world’s first virtualized cloud-native Open RAN network we successfully deployed in Japan, and we want to contribute to the development of a rich Open RAN ecosystem in France.”
In Germany, through local subsidiary Rakuten Symphony Deutschland, the company is managing projects across the country. Commercial efforts are on track and capabilities within the country are being expanded at a rapid pace with a strong drive for recruitment.
If you’re interested in a career at Rakuten Symphony, please click here for job postings and the latest news: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rakuten-symphony/
