Rakuten Symphony will provide O-RAN equipment and collaborate with ecosystem partners for deployment and technical support
In sum – what you need to know:
Vietnam joins Open RAN pioneers – Rakuten Symphony and MobiFone sign MoU to pilot 4G/5G Open RAN in Vietnam, placing the country among the first in Southeast Asia to trial the tech.
Network autonomy – MobiFone sees Open RAN as central to its 2030 goal of becoming a digital leader and gaining greater technological independence.
Japan’s O-RAN lessons guide rollout – Rakuten will leverage experience from Japan’s O-RAN deployments and NEDO-backed 5G infrastructure R&D for the Vietnam trial.
Japanese company Rakuten Symphony and Vietnamese mobile operator MobiFone Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a pilot project deploying 4G and 5G Open RAN (O-RAN) networks in Vietnam.
Rakuten Symphony highlighted that the MoU marks a major milestone for MobiFone as the telco will become one of the first in Southeast Asia to test Open RAN for future mobile expansion. The project will offer technical validation of Open RAN’s commercial viability in the Asian country.
As part of the trial, Rakuten Symphony will provide Open RAN equipment and collaborate with ecosystem partners for deployment and technical support. MobiFone will ensure the necessary infrastructure — cell sites and mobile core — are ready for the Open RAN pilot.
The company also stated that it remains focused on advancing standardized Open RAN innovation, quality assurance automation and edge cloud capabilities for future mobile systems.
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”, subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Sharad Sriwastawa, president of Rakuten Symphony, said: “Rakuten Symphony is pleased to support MobiFone in deploying one of Southeast Asia’s first commercial Open RAN mobile networks. The Rakuten team is looking forward to sharing our success in Japan with Vietnam by showcasing the transformational benefits of Open RAN, including deployment flexibility, enhanced network performance and security and improved customer experience with new and innovative mobile services.”
MobiFone deputy general director, Vinh Tuan Bao, added: “Our vision for 2030 is to become Vietnam’s leading technology corporation, taking the lead in building the nation’s digital infrastructure. 5G is central to that mission—serving not only as a breakthrough technology, but as a transformative platform for economic and social development. We see Open RAN as a strategic step toward tech autonomy in next-gen networks.”
Last week, Rakuten Symphony and Zain Kuwait announced a deal that will see the companies collaborate on a pilot project to establish a functional cloud-native Open Radio Access Network in the country. Zain Kuwait will utilize Rakuten Symphony’s O-RAN and cloud portfolio to deliver 5G Standalone (5G SA) 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 O-RAN in Kuwait and across the Zain Group, which operates in eight countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
As part of the project, the Japanese firm will supply its innovative O-RAN virtualized distributed unit and centralized unit software, along with cloud-native virtualized software, as well as ensuring that its O-RAN solution is fully functional and capable of handling commercial traffic. As part of the deal, Zain Kuwait will allocate the required cell sites as well as providing data center infrastructure and 5G SA core with related transport connectivity.
Earlier this year, Rakuten Symphony had signed its first three agreements related to its Real Open RAN Licensing Program. Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks and Tech Mahindra have all signed on to take Rakuten Symphony’s portfolio of Open Radio Access Network solutions to market
