August 4, 2021

Rakuten Group, Inc.

1&1 and Rakuten agree far-reaching partnership to build Europe's first fully
virtualized mobile network based on new OpenRAN technology
1&1 AG and Rakuten Group, Inc. are entering into a long-term partnership to build
the fourth mobile network in Germany. Together with Rakuten, 1&1 will build
Europe's first fully virtualized mobile network based on innovative OpenRAN
technology. With this, 1&1 is setting new standards for the future of mobile telephony
in Germany and Europe - away from conventional proprietary networks, which are
often provided overall by just one network supplier, towards a completely cloud-based
multi-vendor network architecture.
As announced on August 4, 2021 in "Rakuten launches Rakuten Symphony to
accelerate adoption of cloud-native, open RAN-based mobile networks
worldwide”, alongside Rakuten Communications Platform (hereafter "RCP"),
Rakuten Symphony, a new business organization, was newly launched by
consolidating the products and services to be implemented. Rakuten Symphony aims
to provide a future-proof, cost-effective, communication cloud platform for
carriers, businesses and government agencies around the world.

Rakuten Symphony is a global business organization that develops solution

businesses in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, Europe, and the Middle
East / Africa. Through incorporation, accountability (duties) will be clarified, flexible
decision-making and business execution will be possible, and products, services, and
solutions for telecommunications carriers will be consolidated across the board. We
will be ready to provide 4G and 5G infrastructure and platform solutions to the
global market.

Rakuten NFT: The digital media revolution is coming to Japan

September 15, 2021

Rakuten is launching an NFT platform in Japan.

The new Rakuten NFT service will open its doors early next year, allowing users to
buy and sell NFTs as well as enable IP holders to issue NFTs and build sales
websites.
NFTs: What are they all about?

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, harness the power of blockchain technology to

assign unique identifiers to specific pieces of digital media.
The platform will host a marketplace that will allow users to buy and sell NFTs.
However, Rakuten NFT is aiming to be more than a simple marketplace: the
team is also looking to provide a one-stop platform for holders of major
intellectual property — in categories like sports, anime and music — to issue
their own NFTs for users to buy and exchange.