Tokyo, February 14, 2022 - Rakuten Symphony, Inc. today announced the expansion of its operations across the UK, France and Germany. The expansion will allow the company to support the business operations and growth in the European market and collaboration with operators and vendors in the region to support the transformation of mobile network operations and adoption of Open RAN (Radio Access Network) technologies.
Rakuten Symphony’s operations in key European markets will strengthen the company’s local presence and its ability to serve customers in the region. The local operations will also be attractive hubs for the next generation of European tech talent to develop advanced and innovative technologies.
“Europe is a mature market for mobile network infrastructure and yet mobile network operators and governments are incredibly open to the opportunities Open RAN technologies can bring to the region,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Symphony. “We’re expanding our operations across Europe to strengthen our research and development capabilities and our commitment to the region. We will collaborate closely with European operators, vendors, governments and academic institutions to contribute to developing the region’s Open RAN technologies, while working to realize our vision of providing a future-proof, cost-effective, cloud-based connectivity platform to transform the delivery of telecommunications services by mobile network operators.”
Rakuten Symphony UK Ltd, based in London and led by Nastasi Karaiskos, is focused on 4G and 5G Open RAN software and hardware development and testing for Rakuten Symphony, leveraging and expanding recently acquired Altiostar Networks’ R&D center and Open RAN engineering lab in the country. The expansion of R&D in the UK will put Rakuten Symphony in an ideal position to support the UK government in meeting its ambition for 35% of mobile network traffic in the UK to be carried over open and interoperable RAN architectures by 2030.
In France, Rakuten Symphony France S.A.S.U, will be established to lead the local efforts to expand adoption of the products, services and solutions offered by Rakuten Symphony in the country. Based in Paris, the company will be led by Olivier Alluis, who is also responsible for Rakuten Symphony’s Digital Experience division, which looks after BSS (Business Support Systems), digital business platforms and international wholesale business, and draws on talent in the existing technology center in Montpellier.
Rakuten Symphony Deutschland GmbH, based in Dusseldorf, is managing projects across the country. Commercial efforts are on track and capabilities within the country are expanding at a rapid pace with a strong drive for recruitment.
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About Rakuten Symphony
Rakuten Symphony is reimagining telecom, changing supply chain norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the industry’s pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has headquarters in Japan and local presence in the United States, Singapore, India, Europe and the Middle East Africa region.
