Japan’s Rakuten to use Cisco routing tech for 5G, IoT services

STOCKHOLM: Rakuten Mobile said on Friday that it plans to use new routing technologies from network gear maker Cisco to expand its capacity to support business customers with 5G and so-called Internet of Things (IoT) services.

The Japanese firm has become the first mobile operator to deploy a network based on Open Radio Access Network (RAN) technology that uses software to run network functions on the cloud, reducing the requirement for physical equipment.

Rakuten, with 4 million subscribers, will use the new technology to make the entire network more automated to deploy services faster, reduce latency and lower power consumption.