Kuwait City and Tokyo, 26 May 2025 - Rakuten Symphony and Zain Kuwait have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the organizations collaborate on a pilot project to establish a functional cloud-native Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) in the country. Zain Kuwait will utilize Rakuten Symphony’s ORAN and Cloud portfolio to deliver 5G Standalone sites as part of a project that will represent Kuwait’s first Open RAN deployment.
The project will be the initial phase for planned large scale commercial deployment of Open RAN in Kuwait and across the Zain Group, which operates in eight countries across the Middle East and North Africa region.
As part of the project, Rakuten Symphony will supply its innovative Open RAN virtualized Distributed Unit and Centralized Unit software, along with cloud-native virtualized software, as well as ensuring that its Open RAN solution is fully functional and capable of handling commercial traffic. Zain Kuwait will allocate the required cell sites as well as providing data center infrastructure and 5G SA core with related transport connectivity.
Sharad Sriwastawa, President, Rakuten Symphony, said, “Rakuten Symphony is pleased to support Zain Kuwait in delivering the country’s first Open RAN deployment. By venturing into networks driven by cloud-native, open principles and leveraging Rakuten Symphony’s proven portfolio, Zain Kuwait has the potential to realize the benefits of increased operational flexibility and reduced time to market, in turn delivering better performance for customers.”
Daaij Al-Oud, Chief Technical Officer, Zain Kuwait, said, “This collaboration with Rakuten Symphony marks a significant step in our journey to transform Kuwait’s telecom infrastructure. By piloting the country’s first cloud-native Open RAN deployment, we aim to unlock new levels of network agility, efficiency, and scalability. This initiative is not just a technological milestone for Zain Kuwait, but a strategic move that aligns with our broader vision of leading digital innovation across the region.”
Rakuten Mobile, in collaboration with Rakuten Symphony, will apply the achievements obtained from the “Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems (JPNP20017)”, subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
About Zain Kuwait
Founded in 1983 as the first telecom operator in the Middle East and North Africa, Zain has pioneered several regional milestones—from launching the first GSM service in 1994 to introducing nationwide 5G in Kuwait in 2019. The company remains committed to exceeding customer expectations through cutting-edge digital and traditional services, including AI-based tools and comprehensive support networks. Zain plays a strategic role in Kuwait’s development by fostering public-private partnerships and driving digital transformation across key sectors. Deeply rooted in corporate sustainability, Zain actively supports initiatives in education, health, youth, sports, and the environment, championing positive social impact and community empowerment.
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 operations in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, Europe and the Middle East Africa region.
For more information, visit: https://symphony.rakuten.com
