Samsung strengthens Japan 5G rollout with Rakuten Mobile partnership

Japan’s evolving telecom landscape gains momentum as a major collaboration advances cloud-native infrastructure and signals a new phase of open, software-driven mobile networks.
Nationwide 5G development in Japan moves forward as Open RAN technology reshapes mobile infrastructure, combining virtualisation, AI capabilities and multi-vendor collaboration to redefine future telecom networks.

Samsung has secured an agreement with Rakuten Mobile to deliver Open RAN-compliant 5G radios supporting a nationwide mobile network upgrade across Japan. Commercial deployment is expected to begin in 2026 following extensive testing of the cloud-native infrastructure.

Rakuten Mobile continues to expand its fully virtualised network architecture, designed to improve flexibility, performance, and vendor interoperability. The integration of Samsung equipment demonstrates growing industry confidence in Open RAN technology at large-scale commercial deployments.

Equipment supplied includes low-band and mid-band radios, alongside energy-efficient Massive MIMO systems operating in the 3.8 GHz spectrum. Compact hardware enables easier installation on buildings and street infrastructure while improving capacity in dense urban areas.

Executives from both companies highlighted ambitions to accelerate AI-enabled networks and global Open RAN adoption. Samsung also positioned the partnership as a step toward future 6G innovation and broader next-generation connectivity services.

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