Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile is advancing its network for 5G and IoT services using Cisco technology.

Rakuten Mobile operates a fully cloud-native mobile network. It launched 4G services in Japan in April 2020, and 5G non-standalone (NSA) services in September 2020. With four million subscribers, it continues to advance and scale its network to support demands driven by the growth of remote and mobile workers.

With the implementation of segment routing over IPv6 (SRv6) and Cisco routed optical networking, Rakuten plans to expand its capabilities to support enterprise customers with 5G and IoT services. To support its future 5G SA services with network slicing capabilities, Rakuten will introduce SRv6 micro-segments, an extension to the SRv6 network programming model that is key to addressing multi-domain 5G deployments across its network. Cisco will plan and implement the overall architecture and design.

Transitioning to SRv6 will help Rakuten increase network resiliency and support a wider range of service level agreements (SLAs) that are foundational for upcoming 5G and IoT services. With Cisco routed optical networking, Rakuten can consolidate coherent pluggable optics into a router, making the entire network more automated to deploy services faster from 100 days down to 40, reduce power consumption by nearly 30 per cent, and increase profitability through high-quality services at a competitive price.

“Reimagining mobile networking is at the very heart of Rakuten Mobile’s strategy, and our decision to go full-speed ahead on SRv6 and Cisco routed optical networking demonstrates our effort to take advantage of technology innovation at every layer of the stack,” said Tareq Amin, chief technology officer at Rakuten Mobile. “We knew that Cisco would walk in lock-step with us as we worked through each phase needed to implement this new technology and align it to our business goals.”

Jonathan Davidson, executive vice president at Cisco, added: “Cisco and Rakuten Mobile are on a path to profoundly change the way network infrastructure is built, in order to connect as many people as possible to quality internet services. Rakuten Mobile continues to mark important milestones to take its network to the next-level, and together we are showcasing the blueprint for the internet for the future to support our world of wireless and cloud-powered experiences.”