Of all the priorities that Communications Service Providers are facing, Rakuten Symphony believes that growth - in customers, in revenue and inprofits - is one of the most important because it provides the resources needed to address any and all other issues.
Going one step further, it is “Intelligent Growth” – our theme for MWC Barcelona 2025 – that is important. Intelligent growth (click here to read a recent blog post on the topic) uses technology to reduce operational costs of mobile networks and transforms it into an automated, AI-driven platform for new services.
Rakuten Symphony is a model of intelligent growth, having pioneered next-generation virtualized networks and now, continuing to lead in the adoption of AI, automation, cloud-native containerization, and OSS/BSS technologies to achieve new levels of intelligent growth.
In our Mobile World Congress Barcelona demonstrations, booth presentations and panel discussions, we’ll be presenting the mandate for intelligent growth and the strategies and tools that can make it a reality in your network.
The starting point for the intelligent growth discussion is our booth which is located in Hall 2 of the Fira Gran Via (Booth 2C70). It is where all of our experts are available to answer questions and where we will host daily technology demonstrations and a series of over 40 different presentations, panel discussions and other activities throughout the show.
The highlight will be sessions hosted by Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO, Mickey Mikitani and Rakuten Mobile co-CEO and Rakuten Symphony President, Sharad Sriwastawa on Tuesday, March 4, from 2:30pm until 4pm.
We’ll also demonstrate success we’ve had with partners including Rakuten Mobile, AT&T, Dell and Google. We’ll have even more industry players at the booth for a series of panel discussions that will be hosted at the booth.
10:30 am
Rakuten International Showcase
New business opportunities across North America and Europe and content services for the telecom industry.
Speakers:
- Amit Patel, CEO and Head of Rakuten International, Rakuten USA
- Cedric Dufour, CEO, Rakuten TV and President, Rakuten France
- Atanas Raykov, VP Marketing, Rakuten Viber
1:00 pm
Rakuten Mobile and Cisco Showcase
Successful of one of the world's largest Segment Routing over IPv6 Micro Segment ID (SRv6 uSID) IP transport network migrations.
Speakers:
- Shailesh Gupta, Director, Network Operations (SXC) Supervisory Department, Rakuten Mobile
- Gurudatt Shenoy, VP, Product Management, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, Cisco Systems
2:00 pm
Rakuten Symphony Business Unit Presidents Panel
Rakuten Symphony BU plans for 2025; utilization of automation and AI; and how our product portfolios can provide a comprehensive end-to-end solution suite for customers in the telecom, enterprise and now retail industries
Speakers:
- Partha Seetala, President, Cloud BU
- Anil Sawkar, President, RAN BU
- Vivek Murthy, President, OSS BU
- Ryan Son, President, IS BU
10:30 am
Rakuten Group CEO MWC Opening Remarks
Rakuten Group updates and thoughts on the current landscape of the telecom industry
Speaker:
- Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group
2:30 pm
Democratizing Mobile, Satellite Connectivity & Empowerment Through Tech
Fireside chat on the partnership between Rakuten Mobile and AST SpaceMobile with the goal to provide satellite-to-mobile service across Japan
Speakers:
- Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group
- Abel Avellan, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile
3:00 pm
Rakuten Mobile co-CEO and Rakuten Symphony President Session
The latest business updates of Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony followed by panel discussion with Airspan and Tech Mahindra exploring new opportunities for Open RAN followed by a fireside chat on data monetization
Speakers:
- Sharad Sriwastawa, co-CEO, Rakuten Mobile and President, Rakuten Symphony
- Mohit Joshi, CEO and Managing Director, Tech Mahindra
- Glenn Laxdal, President and CEO, Airspan
4:00 pm
Showcase Rakuten Link AI
Rakuten Link is Rakuten Mobile’s native mobile app, seamlessly connecting mobile users with the entire Rakuten ecosystem of services on a single platform, integrated with AI capabilities to enrich everyday life
Speakers:
- Puneet Handa, Head of Business Strategy & Portfolio, Rakuten Symphony
- Luca Milillo, Vice President, Rakuten Link
- Marc Einstein, Research Director, Counterpoint Research
9:30 am
Rakuten Mobile Network Executive’s Panel
Rakuten Mobile’s network division leaders discuss how the team has continued to provide industry leading mobile experience to customers in Japan.
Speakers:
- Mahmoud Elsakhawy, General Manager, E2E Performance & Capacity Department, Rakuten Mobile
- Sachin Verma, Director, AI & Data Supervisory, Rakuten Mobile
- Shailesh Gupta, Director, Network Operations (SXC) Supervisory Department, Rakuten Mobile
10:30 am
Rakuten Link in Action
A behind the scenes look at new revenue opportunities for mobile operators through a single super app connecting to users to new digital services
Speaker:
- Luca Milillo, Vice President, Rakuten Link
1:00 pm
Rakuten Mobile eSim
As Rakuten Mobile prepares to launch its prepaid eSIM service, discover how we plan to achieve success as a service enabler.
Speakers:
- Tarek Zeid, SVP, International Business, Rakuten Mobile
- Ayush Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Telna
1:30 pm
Rakuten Cloud and Google Cloud Fireside Chat
How Google and Rakuten are partnering to transform operations at the edge.
Speakers
Oni Chakravartti, SVP Sales, Rakuten Cloud, Rakuten Symphony
Elie Tabchouri, Director, Google Distributed Cloud, EMEA, Google
In addition to what’s happening at the booth, you can catchRakuten experts sharing knowledge in keynote and panel sessions.
Other executives speaking during the show include:
Sustainability & Energy Management: A Competitive Advantage
Rakuten Expert: Vivek Chadha, SVP, Global Telecom Cloud Sales, Rakuten Symphony
9:10 AM – 10:00 AM | Sat, Mar 1
Location: TBD
Organizer: Ampere Computing
Enabling Continuous Innovation: AI in the RAN, Security, Efficiency, and More
Rakuten Expert: Nagendra Bykampadi, Global Head of Product Security, Rakuten Symphony
9:20 AM – 10:00 AM | Tuesday, Mar 4
Location: Fira, Hall 8
Organizer: O-RAN Alliance
2025 Global Mobile Trends Presented by GSMA Intelligence
Rakuten Expert: Anshul Bhatt, Chief Product Officer, (OSS Business Unit) and Head of Intelligent Operations, Rakuten Symphony
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Tuesday, Mar 4
Location: CC8.14, GSMA Knowledge Zone,Hall 8.1 - 4YFN
Organizer: GSMA
Are Telcos Behind The AI Curve?
Rakuten Expert: Geoff Hollingworth, CMO, Rakuten Symphony
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM | Tuesday, Mar 4
Location: Fira, Hall 6
Organizer: GSMA
Rakuten Expert: Anshul Bhatt
10:30 – 11:00 AM | Thursday, Mar 6
Location: Fira, Hall 8
MWC Broadcast Stage, Hall 4
Organizer: GSMA
For all the schedule updates and to sign up for a demo, visit the Rakuten MWC Barcelona 2025 event page.
It’s going to be a busy show, but it’s important that we make the most of the opportunity to help telecom get started on a path to intelligent growth. See you there.
