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Rakuten Mobile, Inc. and Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) have announced the completion of a research and development project focused on the commercial deployment of a fully virtualized 5G stand-alone (SA) mobile network. The project utilized general-purpose hardware and cloud technology.

The research and development project aimed to deploy virtualization technology for 5G SA and radio access network (RAN) slicing, as well as performance improvement and extension of network functionality. The results showed that capital and operational expenditures could be reduced by 30% compared to conventional mobile networks that require dedicated hardware and software.

Rakuten Mobile plans to introduce this technology for future commercial stand-alone 5G mobile networks. Through its subsidiary company Rakuten Symphony, the company also aims to accelerate the global deployment of advanced, fully virtualized 5G networks developed in Japan.

The project was part of NEDO’s mission to develop technologies for post-5G networks in Japan. Rakuten Mobile’s research and development focused on virtualized 5G radio access equipment using general-purpose hardware and cloud technology.

The project achieved several milestones, including the development of stand-alone 5G wireless access equipment, the confirmation of the effectiveness of RAN network slicing, and the improvement of performance and functionality for commercial use. These achievements will contribute to the creation of flexible 5G stand-alone networks with reduced costs.

The research project demonstrated that a fully virtualized 5G stand-alone network can support three times the number of connected devices compared to LTE networks. It also verified the benefits of RAN network slicing for ultra-high-speed communication, low latency, and simultaneous multiple connections.

Rakuten Mobile’s future plans involve integrating these research results into commercial 5G stand-alone networks, reducing costs, and enabling flexible responses to advanced network quality requirements. NEDO will continue to develop technologies for post-5G-compatible information and communication systems with the goal of expanding the manufacturing base in Japan.

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