Rakuten Mobile partners Ligado to commercially trial 5G mobile private networks based on RCP

Japan’s Rakuten Mobile on Friday said it has inked a partnership with American satellite communications company Ligado Networks to develop a roadmap for Ligado’s 5G mobile private network solution that will leverage Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

Under the partnership, the two companies will accelerate overall L-band commercial readiness amongst network hardware and software providers.

Ligado and Rakuten will also collaborate with enterprise customers on advanced use cases and the final technology stack for the complete launch of the 5G mobile private network offering, according to an official joint statement.

With this partnership, the two companies aim to accelerate the delivery of private networks through the use of open technology.

Talking about RCP, it combines end-to-end cloud-native, software-centric, Open RAn based mobile network of the Japanese telco to enable enterprises in deploying fully cloud-native network services.

While Ligado’s mid-band spectrum offers advantages such as availability, coverage, and flexibility required for outdoor mobile network deployments to enterprises.

The two companies said they will commence collaboration with ecosystem partners and vendors to define a timeline for trials and a blueprint for solutions.

“With 5G being introduced by mobile network operators around the world, some of the most innovative use-cases will be in 5G mobile private networks,” commented Tareq Amin, CTO of Rakuten Mobile.

“We are very excited to collaborate with Ligado Networks and offer the Rakuten Communications Platform as the foundation for a next-generation of communications infrastructure for enterprises,” Amin said.

“Combining our know-how and licensed L-Band spectrum in the U.S. with the Rakuten Communications Platform and Open RAN infrastructure, we will create a novel blueprint for delivering new efficiencies to U.S. companies looking to deploy powerful mobile private networks that are highly secure and ultra-reliable,” said Doug Smith, President, and CEO at Ligado Networks.