Attending MWC 2026?
Book a meeting with one of our global telecom experts at booth #2C70

Meet us at booth #2C70

Experience Intelligent Growth

Rakuten AI

Thank you for joining us at MWC 2026!

Booth #2C70 | March 2-5, Barcelona
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Enter a new era of growth

At #MWC26, we invited the industry to see Intelligent Growth up close, showcasing how modern networks can deliver maximum profits at minimum costs.
Watch highlights from MWC’26
Intelligent Redefined

Intelligence Redefined

Turn networks into self-driving systems—zero-touch, resilient, and adaptive.
Growth Redefined

Growth Redefined

Plan, build, assure at massive scale and speed with AI-driven automation.
What makes Rakuten AI different?

Anticipatory intelligence for your needs

Rooted in Omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), it delivers proactive, personalized experiences.

Data-driven outcomes at scale

Powered by trillions of data points across 70+ businesses, it builds faster, smarter models that drive real customer outcomes.

Design that you can trust

Built on the Rakuten AI Code of Ethics, we ensure security and privacy—so you can adopt AI with confidence.

Mickey's Keynote: Forging the Future of Connectivity and Commerce

Mickey took the main stage at MWC to give a keynote address, sharing a bold vision for how telecom operators around the world can expand their business model by creating new digital ecosystems using their connectivity strengths and data assets.

Catch the full keynote here

Booth Theater Sessions: From Cloud to Open RAN to Monetization

We covered a lot of ground at the Rakuten Booth Theatre with customers, partners and industry leaders.

Ecosystem & Partner Momentum

This year brought new momentum across our partner ecosystem, as we collaborated with global operators, vendors, and innovators on Open RAN, cloud-native automation, and AI-first transformation strategies. The conversations reinforced one clear message: the telecom industry is ready for intelligent, software-driven growth at scale.
To know more about our partner ecosystem, reach out to us.‍

MWC Sessions

Rakuten Symphony experts will appear
Improve ARPU while automating your operations

Experience INTELLIGENT GROWTH

Meet us at FutureNet Asia 2025

GSMA Speaking Sessions

Ecosystem Architects

Forging the Future of Connectivity & Commerce

calendar

Monday, 2 March 2026

Two different perspectives, infinite opportunity. Rakuten and VEON join to share how telecom operators and their partners can create new digital ecosystems using existing strengths and assets. Mickey and Kaan will present replicable blueprints for unlocking new revenue growth and customer value in mature and emerging markets alike. As telecom grapples with stagnant ARPU, massive infrastructure investments and the emergence of digital-native competitors, this session reveals actionable insights for operators and industry stakeholders seeking value creation strategies beyond connectivity.

Mickey Mikitani
Group CEO,
Rakuten Group
Kaan Terzioğlu
Group CEO, 

VEON

Must watch speaker sessions at the Rakuten booth

09:00 - 9:30 am

Closing the Loop: Real-Time AI for End-to-End Network Autonomy and energy Efficiency

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Muslim Elkotob


Chief Architect, Vodafone

Cedric Dufour
Ali Tizghadam

Chief Automation Architect, Technology Fellow, TELUS

Atanas Raykov
Swamy Vasudevan

Head of Sales, North America, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Naresh Gao

Product Lead, Google

10:00 - 10:30 am

From Automation to Autonomy: Why Level 4 Autonomous Networks and Open RAN Intelligence Are Critical for Telco Transformation

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Afnan Ahmed

Director, Technology Strategy & Architecture, Telenor Group

Cedric Dufour
Faiq Khan

Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Ciro Cipriani

Optics Professional Services, Nokia

Atanas Raykov
Wissam Haddad

Strategy-Business Development-operations, Accenture

11:00 - 11:30 am

Building MEA Digital Infrastructure through collaboration: The Convergence of Open Networks, Data Centers, and System Integration

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Tarkan Alagoz

Chief Growth Officer, Odine

Cedric Dufour
Ali Kosi

COO, Telekom Kenya

Atanas Raykov
İsmail Özeren

CEO, Radore

Atanas Raykov
Udai Kanukolanu

Global Head of Sales, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Shadi Syed

VP, Head of Sales, MEA, Rakuten Symphony

12:00 - 12:30 pm

Telecom Infra Project: Practical pathways towards AI & Automation in RAN

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Kristian Toivo

Executive Director, TIP

Cedric Dufour
Sushil Rawat

Director RAN Strategy, TELUS & TIP OpenRAN Co-chair

Atanas Raykov
Vivek Murthy

Senior Vice President, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Jean Claude Geha

CTO, Vantage Towers

13:00 - 13:30 pm

Hardware Innovation for Cloud RAN and AI in Harsh Edge Environments

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Sudhakar Pandey

General Manager, Radio Access Network Department, Rakuten Mobile

Cedric Dufour
Andrew Vaz

VP Product Management, Dell

Atanas Raykov
Vishal Gupta

General Manager Global Business Development, Network & Edge Group, Intel

Atanas Raykov
Devesh Gautam

Senior Vice President, Solution Architecture Division, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
James Dartnell (moderator)

Director, Corporate Communications, Rakuten Symphony

13:30 - 14:00 pm

Building the Intelligent RAN

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Rob Soni

AT&T, VP, RAN

Cedric Dufour
Munish Chhabra

SVP & GM, Mobility, RadiSys

Atanas Raykov
Vivek Murthy

Senior Vice President, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Upendra Pingle

Senior Vice President, Intelligent Cellular Networks

Atanas Raykov
Anand Chandrasekher

Founder & CEO, Aira Technology

14:00 - 14:30 pm

SheConnects
Future-ready networks: Navigating the Next Wave in Telecom

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Cristina Rodriguez

VP/GM Network and Edge GTM, Intel

Cedric Dufour
Monica Paolini

Principal, Senza Fili

Atanas Raykov
Dimitra Simeonidou

Director Smart Internet Lab, University of Bristol

Atanas Raykov
Subha Srinivasan (moderator)

SVP, Global Delivery and Customer Experience,  Rakuten Symphony

15:00 - 15:30 pm

Fireside Chat with Udai Kanukolanu

Speakers:

Cedric Dufour
Udai Kanukolanu

Global Head of Sales, Rakuten Symphony

Amit Patel

James Dartnell (moderator)

Director, Corporate Communications, Rakuten Symphony

16:00 - 19:00 pm

Rakuten Industry Analyst and Media Event

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Sharad Sriwastawa

co-CEO Rakuten Mobile and President, Rakuten Symphony

Cedric Dufour
Michael Martin

CEO, 1&1 Mobdilfunk GmbH

Cedric Dufour
Daaij Al-Oud

Chief Technology Officer, Zain Kuwait

Cedric Dufour
Peter Jarich (moderator)

Head of GSMA Intelligence, GSMA

09:00 - 9:30 am

AIOps in Action: Predictive Intelligence for Network Operations

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Frank O. Miller

Chief AI and Platforms Officer, Colt

Cedric Dufour
Ali Tizghadam

Chief Automation Architect, Technology Fellow, TELUS

Atanas Raykov
Ram Ramananthan

VP of Product (AI, Automation & Cloud), Ribbon

Atanas Raykov
Anshul Bhatt

Chief Product Officer, OSS BU, Rakuten Symphony

9:30 - 10:00 am

The AI-Capacity Loop: Scaling the Network through Distributed MIMO

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Doug Kirkpatrick

CTO, Eridan

Cedric Dufour
Soma Velayutham

GM, AI/5G/Telecoms, NVIDIA

Atanas Raykov
Amanda Toman

Director, Wireless Innovation Fund, NTIA

Atanas Raykov
Tommaso Melodia

Director, Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems, Northeastern University

Atanas Raykov
Vihang Kamble

CTO, RAN BU, Rakuten Symphony

10:00 - 10:30 am

How Intelligent Architectures Reshape Customer Experience: An AI-Driven Perspective

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Mahmoud ElSakhawy

Vice Director, Mobile Networks Supervisory Department, Rakuten Mobile

Cedric Dufour
Mohamed Talaat

Head of Sales & Business Development, Middle East, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Sylwia Kechiche

VP of Industry Analysis, Opensignal

Atanas Raykov
Robert Lerner

Regional Vice President, APAC, Opensignal

Atanas Raykov
Omar Ali Al-Saleh

Wireless & Innovation Team Leader, Network Engineering Division, Zain Kuwait

Atanas Raykov
James Dartnell (moderator)

Director, Corporate Communications, Rakuten Symphony

10:30 - 11:15 am

Rakuten International Ecosystem Showcase

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Amit Patel

Chief Executive Officer, Rakuten International and Rakuten Rewards

Cedric Dufour
Cédric Dufour

CEO of Rakuten TV and President of Rakuten France

Atanas Raykov
Puneet Handa

Chief Strategy Officer, Rakuten Symphony

11:00 - 11:30 am

Rakuten Mobile & Rakuten Viber: eSIM Demo Session

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Tarek Zeid

Senior Vice President, International Wholesale Business, Rakuten Mobile

Cedric Dufour
Barak Kaufman

Director of Business Operations, Rakuten Viber

12:30 - 13:30 pm

Rakuten Symphony BU Presidents' Session

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Anil Sawkwar

President, Open RAN BU, Rakuten Symphony

Cedric Dufour
Partha Seetala

President, Cloud BU + Chief AI Officer, Rakuten Symphony

Cedric Dufour
Ryan Son

President, Internet Services Business Unit

Cedric Dufour
Vivek Murthy

President, OSS BU, Rakuten Symphony

13:30 - 14:00 pm

Cloud-Native Open RAN:  Future State Architecture

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Dr. Mothilal De Silva

Chairman, Srilanka Telecom - Mobitel

Cedric Dufour
Abbi Pillipita

CEO, Sierra

Atanas Raykov
Rishi Shukla

Vice President APAC Sales, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Sheheryar Khakwani(SK) (moderator)

VP Partner Alliance, iGTM

Atanas Raykov
TBC (moderator)

-

14:00 - 14:30 pm

Beyond 5G: How India is Pioneering the Path to 6G

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Dr. Kumar Sivarajan

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Tejas Networks

Cedric Dufour
Shri A. Robert J. Ravi

Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), BSNL

Cedric Dufour
Puneet Handa

CSO, Rakuten Symphony

Cedric Dufour
Sandeep Arora (moderator)

Senior Vice-President, Sales, Rakuten Symphony

Cedric Dufour
Rishi Shukla (moderator)

-

14:30 - 15:30 pm

Fostering a Multi-Vendor ORAN RU Ecosystem, and Paving the Way for AI-RAN

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Sudhakar Panday

General Manager, Radio Access Network Department, Rakuten Mobile

Cedric Dufour
Patrik Eriksson

Vice President and Head of the Mobile Systems Business Uni, 1Finity

Cedric Dufour
Eric Yoon

Head of System Integration Business, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics

Cedric Dufour
Glenn Laxdal

President and Chief Executive Officer, Airspan

Cedric Dufour
Nitin Agarwal

Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.

Cedric Dufour
Roy Chua

Founder & Principal Analyst, AvidThink

17:00 - 18:00 pm

Rakuten Booth Happy Hour

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Sharad Sriwastawa

co-CEO Rakuten Mobile and President, Rakuten Symphony

9:30 - 10:00 am

Mission Networks of the Future: 5G Standalone as the Foundation for Secure Defense

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Andrew Thiessen

Chief Technologist, 5G CFT, US Department of War

Cedric Dufour
Rory O'Toole

VP Global Sales Telecommunications, Druid Software

Atanas Raykov
Drosten Fisher

Head of Navy Business, Cape

Atanas Raykov
Don Hawkins

Senior Director Engineering, Mission 5G, Dell Technologies

10:00 - 10:30 am

Autonomous Networks & Sustainable Connectivity through AI

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Sachin Verma

Chief AI & Data Officer, Rakuten Mobile

Cedric Dufour
Shailesh Gupta

Vice President, IP & Enterprise, Rakuten Mobile

Atanas Raykov
Brijesh Yadav

Vice President, Architecture & Business Solutioning Department, Rakuten Mobile

Atanas Raykov
James Dartnell (moderator)

Director, Corporate Communications, Rakuten Symphony

12:00 - 12:30 pm

AI-Powered OSS - The Path to Autonomous Networks

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Dr. Tomasz Gersberg

Head of Group Future Networks, Axiata Group

Cedric Dufour
Anthony Rodrigues

CEO, Axiata Digital Lab (ADL)/ Group CIO, Axiata Group

Atanas Raykov
Sandeep Arora

Senior Vice-President, Sales, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Vivek Murthy

Senior Vice President, Rakuten Symphony

Atanas Raykov
Puneet Handa

CSO, Rakuten Symphony

15:00 - 15:30 pm

Open RAN for Neutral-Host, In-Building 5G Networks

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Amanda Toman

Director, Wireless Innovation Fund, US Department of Commerce, NTIA

Cedric Dufour
Scott Deweese

President, Americas, SOLiD

15:30 - 16:30 pm

DSP Leaders Vision Report Panel by Telecom TV

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Darrell Jordan-Smith

Chief Revenue Officer, Wind River

Amit Patel

Terje Jensen

Head of Global Business Security, Telenor

Amit Patel

Geoffrey Hollingworth

CMO, Rakuten Symphony

Amit Patel

Neil McRae

CTIO, CityFibre

Amit Patel

Ray Le Maistre (moderator)

Editorial Director, Telecom TV

16:30 - 17:00 pm

AI-Enabled 5G RAN Automation and Optimization

Speakers:

Amit Patel

David Ronen

Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies

Cedric Dufour
Dr. Tomasz Gerszberg

Group Head of Future Networks, Axiata

Cedric Dufour
Babak Jafarian

Chief Development Officer, Aira Technology

Cedric Dufour
Rishi Shukla

VP, Head of Business, APAC, Rakuten Symphony

17:30 - 18:00 pm

From Automation to Autonomy: The Future of Networks Operations

Speakers:

Amit Patel

Nitesh Singh

MD and Communications, Media and Technology Lead, Accenture

Cedric Dufour
Faiq Khan

SVP, Global Sales, OSS BU, Rakuten Symphony

What we have in store for you

Visit and see how capabilities from Cloud, RAN, OSS, and Rakuten Ecosystem, create a new business reality - for both top line and bottom line

Cloud

Cloud

Scale without limits. With Rakuten Cloud, you gain real-time access and control of edge-level data across thousands of sites—giving your business the agility to grow faster and smarter.

Open RAN

Open RAN

Deliver exceptional experiences. Our Open RAN solutions help you build flexible, future-ready networks with proven performance—so you can serve customers better, everywhere.

OSS

OSS

Prevent problems before they happen. Rakuten Symphony OSS gives you predictive, autonomous intelligence—unifying data for instant clarity and proactive action.

Ecosystem

Ecosystem

With a diverse ecosystem of 70+ services we empower you to go fully digital—cutting costs, speeding operations, and accelerating transformation.

Latest Announcements

Key highlights from MWC2026

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