Nokia said it will operate the virtualized core network of Rakuten Mobile, a mobile network operator in Japan, to manage total cost of ownership (TCO).
The deal will allow Rakuten Mobile, which delayed the launch of its mobile business due to technical issues, to focus on developing its portfolio of disruptive services and expanding its service footprint, while developing automation capabilities.
Nokia said its operational support services enable Rakuten Mobile to maintain their focus on growing LTE coverage footprint and 5G service capabilities while ensuring the reliability of launched services.
Nokia is enabling automation in network and service lifecycle management within the Rakuten Mobile cloud environment. This will accelerate the pace of service innovation and deployment while controlling Opex.
This managed services deal will ensure predictable Opex costs to minimize financial risk while incorporating network and IT operations.
Nokia is supporting over 160 virtual network function instances across two data centers in a multivendor cloud environment.
Friedrich Trawöger, head of Operate & Managed Services Unit at Nokia, said: “By managing its telco cloud we can help Rakuten Mobile to focus on its objectives; to launch its mobile LTE network and to rapidly realize its vision as a 5G digital service provider.”
Tareq Amin, chief technology officer of Rakuten Mobile, said: “With Nokia supporting the operation of our cloud native network, we can focus on service launch and expansion.”
