Rakuten Mobile plans to deploy 1Finity’s 32T32R massive MIMO O-RAN radio units operating in the 3.7 GHz band
In sum – what to know:
O-RAN mMIMO rollout – Rakuten Mobile will deploy 32T32R massive MIMO radios across its 5G network to increase capacity and improve coverage in high-demand areas.
Interoperable, cloud-native – The radios will integrate with Rakuten Symphony’s CU/DU via O-RAN open fronthaul, complementing existing O-RAN deployments.
Efficiency, sustainability – Passively cooled radios and improved energy per bit aim to support network expansion while managing power consumption.
Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile and 1Finity, a Fujitsu company, have announced a collaboration to deploy 1Finity’s massive MIMO O-RAN radios across Rakuten Mobile’s nationwide 5G network in Japan.
The radios will be integrated into Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized, cloud-native O-RAN architecture and are expected to improve both network capacity and coverage, Ericsson said.
The Nordic vendor also noted that 1Finity massive MIMO radios are based on Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QRU100 platforms and are designed to meet O-RAN specifications. According to the companies, the passively cooled radio units are intended to support sustainable network expansion while maintaining high energy efficiency and long-term operational reliability.
Massive MIMO technology is typically deployed in high-traffic and coverage-challenged areas of mobile networks, where it can significantly increase capacity while improving spectral efficiency and reducing energy consumption per bit.
Rakuten Mobile plans to deploy 1Finity’s 32T32R massive MIMO O-RAN radio units operating in the 3.7 GHz band. These radios will interoperate with Rakuten Symphony’s centralized and distributed units through the O-RAN open fronthaul interface. The deployment will complement the existing 1Finity 44R21 O-RAN radios already in use across Rakuten Mobile’s network to provide wide-area coverage.
The pair also noted that the deployment represents one of the first commercial, large-scale rollouts of O-RAN compliant massive MIMO radios.
“Rakuten Mobile will continue to leverage our expertise in building fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile networks compatible with Open RAN in Japan, proceeding with the rapid deployment of 5G Sub-6 base stations and expanding our service areas,” said Sudhakar Pandey, head of Rakuten Mobile’s RAN department. “The low power consumption and high performance of the 1Finity radio platform is well-suited to help us achieve our sustainable connectivity vision.”
Commercial deployment of the 1Finity Open RAN massive MIMO radios in Rakuten Mobile’s 5G network is expected to begin this year.
Last year, Rakuten Mobile had named Cisco, Nokia, and F5 as its lead technology partners for the deployment of its 5G Standalone (SA) network. The Japanese company noted that these alliances will “significantly enhance its network capabilities, simplify operations through AI-driven systems, and drive innovation” across Japan.
