Tokyo – Rakuten Mobile, Inc., and Airspan Networks, Inc., today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to have Airspan offer on Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) its complete vRAN hardware and software platform OpenRANGE, based on O-RAN specifications.

Under the agreement, Airspan will also aim to collaborate with Rakuten Mobile on RCP go-to-market (GTM) marketing strategies world-wide and jointly sell RCP with Airspan’s solutions to telco operators, enterprises and governments.

RCP combines the technology blueprint and expert playbook of the world’s first end-to-end cloud native mobile network of Rakuten Mobile and its world-class partners to offer telecom companies and enterprises a way to easily build and deploy fully cloud native network services at speed and low-cost.

RCP contains the elements of the Rakuten Mobile network, including telco applications and software from multiple vendors, OSS and BSS systems handling customer billing and activation systems, in addition to edge computing and virtual network management functions.

“We are excited to welcome Airspan as a member of the RCP family and leverage all that we have achieved on our journey together. Airspan’s unwavering commitment to innovation has made it possible for Rakuten Mobile to offer its customers a truly customizable network architecture,” said Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer at Rakuten Mobile.

“Airspan has always been a champion of RAN disaggregation whether it be from small cells to macro or software to hardware, we are steadfast in our commitment to innovate and are honored to be a part of something truly special with Rakuten Mobile,” said Eric Stonestrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of Airspan Networks.

Airspan and Rakuten Mobile intend to further jointly develop next generation communications and collaboration technologies to enable operators and end user customers to simplify, accelerate and expand their offerings, while generating new revenue streams.