Intelligent Growth: The Future of Telecom in the Digital Age

The Wake-Up Call

The telecom industry stands at a critical juncture. Every 15 years or so, a technological shift resets the playing field, and we are on the cusp of such a transformation right now. The brutal truth is that technology alone isn't the solution—it's merely the enabler. What truly matters is how we harness it to drive business success.

At Rakuten Symphony, we've proven that Intelligent Growth, a strategy that combines digital business fundamentals with telecom expertise, is the key to securing a prosperous future in this rapidly evolving landscape.

The Growth Equation

Successful digital businesses are driven by a fundamental equation:

Lifetime Value = Cost of Acquisition × Churn × Monthly Profit

Notice what's missing? There's no mention of technology. That's because successful businesses focus on outcomes, not tools. Each element of this equation must be optimized:

• ‍Lifetime Value: The total worth of a customer over time.
• ‍Cost of Acquisition: The investment required to gain one customer.
• Churn: The rate at which customers are lost each month.
• Monthly Profit: The cash generated per customer monthly.

The Platform Revolution

At Rakuten, our success is built on four fundamental platform elements:

1. ‍Brand & Trust: Leveraging our market position to create an immediate advantage for new services.
2. Unified Identity: A single ID across all services, reducing friction and lowering acquisition costs.
3. Loyalty System: Creating ecosystem stickiness with real value, influencing customer behavior.
4. Data Intelligence: Rich cross-service insights and machine learning-driven decisions for pattern recognition at scale.

The Technology Stack

Our approach is broken down into five critical layers:

1. ‍Interplay (Foundation): Cloud-native infrastructure with seamless integration of platform, storage, and orchestrator.
2. Open (Freedom): True Open RAN implementation, breaking vendor lock-in and ensuring future-proof flexibility.
3. Data-centric (Intelligence): Rakuten AI for Telecom, enabling network-wide learning and data-driven decision-making.
4. Automation (Efficiency): Intelligent operations with machine-speed execution and human strategic oversight.
5. Business (Value Creation): White Label Apps & Platforms, customer-focused services, and revenue generation.

Where Do You Start?

You don't have to tackle everything at once. Start where it hurts the most:

• ‍Infrastructure costs: Begin with Interplay.
• Vendor lock-in: Focus on Open.
• Data challenges: Start with Data-centric.
• Manual operations: Tackle Automation.
• New revenue: Jump into the Business layer.

The Path Forward

At Rakuten, this approach has enabled the successful launch and growth of over 70 businesses. Each new service benefits from and strengthens the ecosystem. Remember, you don't need to boil the ocean. Pick a layer, improve it, and let those improvements guide your next steps. Just ensure everything aligns with this framework.

‍Want to learn more? Join us at the Rakuten Booth (#2C70) during MWC Barcelona 2025. Let's discuss your specific challenges and how Intelligent Growth can work for you.