Rakuten Mobile Partners with Fujitsu for 5G Base Station Deployment in 2025

Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, today announced it will begin deploying base stations utilizing radio units (RU) developed by Fujitsu Limited, as it accelerates the expansion of its 5G (Sub6) network area in 2025.

Leveraging its expertise in building a fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network based on Open RAN standards in Japan, Rakuten Mobile will continue to rapidly deploy 5G Sub6 base stations and expand its coverage area. Fujitsu, through its compact and energy-efficient RU, will support Rakuten Mobile’s rollout of 5G commercial services and contribute to the further global adoption of Open RAN.

The RU model to be used by Rakuten Mobile, 44R21, adopts the O-RAN specifications established by the O-RAN ALLIANCE – a worldwide community promoting the development of Open RAN specifications. The RU facilitates communication between the base station’s distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU) via a fronthaul interface ^(1 ). It has a proven track record of interoperability with equipment from various domestic and international vendors, enabling telecommunications carriers to diversify their equipment choices and mitigate supply chain risks. Additionally, using Fujitsu’s proprietary technology, the radio units are designed to be compact, lightweight and energy-efficient, thereby contributing to leaner space requirements and lower network operation costs.

The RU 44R21 base model will be showcased at MWC Barcelona 2025, the world’s largest connectivity exhibition, held in Barcelona, Spain, from March 3 to 6, 2025.

Going forward, Rakuten Mobile will use its pioneering virtualization network technology and existing base station infrastructure to reduce lead times from construction to operation, ensuring cost-efficient deployments of base stations. Additionally, Rakuten Symphony will work together with Fujitsu to discuss future collaborations, aiming to drive the global rollout of these units and accelerate the worldwide adoption of Open RAN technology.

We are excited to partner with Fujitsu to accelerate the rollout of high-performance, energy-efficient 5G base stations. This collaboration will enable us to deliver exceptional mobile services to even more of our customers.

– Sharad Sriwastawa, co-CEO and CTO, Rakuten Mobile

Fujitsu’s focus has been to develop an innovative wireless platform that is compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient. In addition to this wireless device that complies with O-RAN standard specifications, Fujitsu will support Rakuten Mobile in building a flexible and efficient network, leveraging its extensive experience in O-RAN connectivity.

– Masaaki Moribayashi, Corporate Executive Officer and SEVP, Network Business and Special Assignment, Fujitsu Limited