Rakuten Mobile reported that the total number of MNO subscriptions was 4.65 million at end-Q1
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile said its 4G network reached 98.4% of the country’s population as of the end of the first quarter. The telco added that it expects to reach full coverage with its 4G service by June this year.
In its earnings statement, the company said the number of 4G outdoor base stations reached 57,358 as of the end of Q1 2023, up from 52,003 at the end of the previous quarter. The carrier previously said it aims to have 60,000 base stations in operation by the end of its fiscal year 2023.
Rakuten Mobile also reported that the total number of MNO subscriptions was 4.65 million as of May 10, 2023. “Churn continues to decrease, and new MNO subscribers have shown a net increase since December 2022. MNO ARPU in Q1 2023 increased to JPY1,959 ($14.5) from JPY 836 in Q1 2022,” the telco said.
Rakuten Mobile previously said its spectrum in the so-called platinum band (800/900 MHz) will enable the company to boost 5G coverage in 2024 by making use of existing assets.
Rakuten Mobile said it will continue to pursue platinum band, analyzing opportunities in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands. Rakuten Mobile also noted it has already expressed its desire to get spectrum in the 700 MHz.
Meanwhile, revenue from software platform Rakuten Symphony increased to $76 million in Q1, up 14.6% year-on-year. The company said the platform had 11 global customers as of the end of the quarter with over 100,000 registered platform users.
Earlier this week, Rakuten Mobile signed a new three-year roaming agreement with rival operator KDDI and its subsidiary Okinawa Cellular.
Rakuten Mobile said the new roaming deal includes areas not covered by a previous roaming agreement, including high-traffic shopping districts in Tokyo’s 23 wards as well as the cities of Osaka and Nagoya,
Under the terms of the deal, KDDI will continue to provide roaming services for select indoor locations such as subways, underground shopping centers, tunnels and other indoor facilities and rural areas. The new roaming agreement comes into effect in June 2023 and extends to September 2026
The telcos said the new agreement replaces a deal announced in 2018 running to March 2026.
In September 2020, Rakuten Mobile had launched 5G services in parts of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Hokkaido, Osaka and Hyogo. The service was initially offered via Non-Stand Alone (NSA) 5G architecture. The operator had a total of 7,058 outdoor 5G base stations in operation as of the end of last year.
