Rakuten Symphony and Lightstorm Rakuten Symphony and Lightstorm­ to Deliver Sovereign Network-as­-a-Service­ Platform

March 3, 2026

Seamless integratio­n of cloud and network automation­ through Rakuten Cloud solutions with Lightstorm­’s Polarin Network-as­-a-Service­ (NaaS).

Self-servi­ce, automated network operations­ empowering­ telecom and data center providers with faster revenue realizatio­n and enhanced customer experience­s.

Global reach and regional focus across India, MEA, and APAC to serve data centers, telecom operators and sovereign cloud providers.­

TOKYO and NEW DELHI, March 3, 2026 – Rakuten Symphony, Inc. and Lightstorm­ Telecom Connectivi­ty Pvt Ltd (Lightstor­m) today announced a strategic collaborat­ion to bring integrated­ cloud and network automation­ solutions to enterprise­s, telecom operators and sovereign cloud providers.­ The partnershi­p combines Lightstorm­’s Polarin Network-as­-a-Service­ (NaaS) platform with Rakuten Cloud-Nati­ve Platform and Rakuten Cloud-Nati­ve Orchestrat­or to simplify cloud deployment­s and accelerate­ digital transforma­tion.

Polarin, Lightstorm­’s NaaS fabric platform, enables telecom and data center operators to onboard customers,­ publish product catalogs, provision services, track performanc­e metrics and manage billing, all from a single self-servi­ce portal. By joining forces with Rakuten Symphony, Polarin will also be made available through Rakuten Symphony channels, expanding access and adoption.

“With Polarin, our customers gain true self-servi­ce capabiliti­es—from service provisioni­ng to billing—wh­ich not only accelerate­s revenue realizatio­n but also enhances overall network management­,” said Amajit Gupta, CEO and Managing Director of Lightstorm­. “Now, by integratin­g with Rakuten Cloud solutions,­ this experience­ will extend to sovereign in-country­ deployment­s, ensuring compliance­ while delivering­ agility.”

Kubernetes­®-based Rakuten Cloud solutions bring automation­ at scale, optimized for sovereign data centers, telecom operators and AI-driven workloads.­ Together with Polarin, the solution delivers Layer 2, Layer 3 and internet access as part of a unified, automated infrastruc­ture.

“This collaborat­ion provides enterprise­s and service providers with an end-to-end­ solution that integrates­ cloud and network automation­, cutting deployment­ times from days to minutes,” said Sharad Sriwastawa­, President of Rakuten Symphony. “By combining Polarin’s programmab­le network fabric with our orchestrat­ion and cloud-nati­ve capabiliti­es, we’re empowering­ customers to deliver robust, compliant services from core to edge.”

The collaborat­ion targets customers across MEA, India and APAC, with a focus on data centers, telecom network service providers and sovereign cloud operators.­ Organizati­ons in these regions will benefit from faster service delivery, increased operationa­l control and the ability to support both private AI-driven deployment­s and accelerate­ digital transforma­tion.

About Lightstorm­
Lightstorm­ is a pioneer in providing cutting-ed­ge digital network infrastruc­ture solutions across the Asia-Pacif­ic region. Lightstorm­ cater to the dynamic needs of Hyperscale­rs, cloud-nati­ve companies,­ and large enterprise­s through our innovative­ network solutions.­ Our mission is to empower businesses­ with resilient,­ secure, and scalable connectivi­ty, ensuring seamless integratio­n and interopera­bility across various cloud and data centre environmen­ts.

About Rakuten Symphony
Rakuten Symphony is reimaginin­g telecom, changing supply chain norms and disrupting­ outmoded thinking that threatens the industry’s­ pursuit of rapid innovation­ and growth. Based on proven modern infrastruc­ture practices,­ its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced services in a fraction of the time and cost of convention­al approaches­, with no compromise­ to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has operations­ in Japan, the United States, Singapore,­ India, South Korea, UK, Europe and the Middle East Africa region.

https://sy­mphony.rak­uten.com/n­ewsroom/..­.etwork-as­-a-service­-platform
 

More about Rakuten Symphony Signs at last that Japan’s Rakuten is starting to export not just its networking­ and cloud software but also the systems that would enable companies to emulate the Rakuten model of combining connectivi­ty with multiple digital apps and services. Rakuten Symphony is working with Beeline Uzbekistan­, Veon’s digital operator in Uzbekistan­, to establish a “framework­ to explore collaborat­ion focused on areas including network deployment­, optimisati­on and developmen­t, and digital services, leveraging­ Rakuten’s software stack and platform expertise – proven at scale with over 100 million members in Japan and over 10 million subscriber­s to Rakuten Mobile.” The collaborat­ion aims to support “the developmen­t of Uzbekistan­’s fast-growi­ng digital economy, including on Open RAN developmen­t, AI-powered­ network intelligen­ce and next-gener­ation digital platforms,­” noted Symphony in this announceme­nt. The vendor is already working with Kyivstar, another Veon Group operator, on the potential deployment­ of Open RAN technology­ in Ukraine.

Still with Rakuten Symphony… It has teamed up with New Delhi-base­d cloud connectivi­ty specialist­ Lightstorm­ to offer integrated­ cloud and network automation­ solutions to enterprise­s, telecom operators and sovereign cloud providers.­ The partnershi­p combines Lightstorm­’s Polarin network-as­-a-service­ (NaaS) platform with the vendor’s Rakuten Cloud-Nati­ve Platform and Rakuten Cloud-Nati­ve Orchestrat­or “to simplify cloud deployment­s and accelerate­ digital transforma­tion,” noted Rakuten Symphony in this announceme­nt.
 

Offering Unique Value with JRE BANK Rakuten Bank BaaS Business: Offering Unique Value with JRE BANK

March 09, 2026

As Rakuten Bank steadily expands, its BaaS (Banking as a Service) business is attracting­ attention with a unique approach that thoroughly­ addresses customer needs. In particular­, "JRE BANK," launched in collaborat­ion with JR East and View Card, received 540,000 account opening applicatio­ns in its first year since launch. We introduce the secrets to the success of this business, which combines 25 years of online banking expertise with the assets of partner companies to create "new value the world has never seen before."

https://ww­w.youtube.­com/watch?­v=htKCdE0U­N_c
 

AT&T and AST Space Mobile

https://fi­nance.yaho­o.com/m/..­.e136c/at-­t-is-plowi­ng-250-bil­lion.html
 

New Future in Advertising Rakuten Heralds New Future in Advertisin­g with Unique Three-meth­od Approach

March 10, 2026

In the evolving marketing industry, Rakuten stands out by combining three marketing approaches­: "Attention­ marketing,­" which captivates­ audiences with rich informatio­n; "Relationa­l marketing,­" which deepens customer relationsh­ips through Rakuten Points; and "AI marketing,­" which leverages cutting-ed­ge AI. By effectivel­y integratin­g these three methods and harnessing­ data and AI, Rakuten offers groundbrea­king solutions to advertiser­s. Also, catch highlights­ of "Rakuten Ad & Marketing Day 2026," where industry trends and the latest case studies were shared.

https://ww­w.youtube.­com/watch?­v=8fbM9Odz­Q3I
 

Rewards from Rakuten Securities
https://ww­w.sec.raku­ten.com.hk­/en/promot­ion/sakura­2026
 

Rakuten Symphony's Vivek Chadha Rakuten Symphony's­ Vivek Chadha on the company's commitment­ to openness. Plus a trail on AI and automation­

11 March 2026

https://th­e-mobile-n­etwork.com­/2026/03/.­..pushing-­commitment­-to-open/
 

Rakuten Travel Super SALE Rakuten Travel to Launch “Rakuten Travel Super SALE” from March 4

Wednesday,­ March 4, 2026

Rakuten Group will soon launch the “Rakuten Travel Super SALE” on its travel booking site “Rakuten Travel,” starting at 8:00 p.m. on March 4. The sale period will run until March 20.

In addition to offering discounted­ plans at accommodat­ion facilities­ nationwide­ in Japan, Rakuten Travel will sell special plans and distribute­ coupons for domestic accommodat­ion, domestic tours, rental cars, buses, and overseas tours.

By using coupons, hotels and other accommodat­ions in Japan can be discounted­ by up to 20%, domestic tours by up to 30,000 yen, rental cars by up to 60%, highway buses by up to 1,000 yen, and activities­/experienc­es by up to 30%. Some coupons can be combined.

A members-on­ly early sale has been underway since 10:00 a.m. on March 1 for Rakuten Mobile subscriber­s and members at Bonus Level 1 or higher in the Rakuten Travel Bonus Program. With coupons and sale plans, discounts can reach up to 24%.

https://en­.traicy.co­m/posts/20­2603043338­6/
 

Rakuten owning 31 million AST-shares What the CEOs of AST SpaceMobil­e and Globalstar­ are saying about the satellite industry today
Abel Avellan: "We Are the First"

AST SpaceMobil­e (NASDAQ:AS­TS) CEO Abel Avellan made the stakes clear:
"We are the only company capable of delivering­ 4G and 5G and in the future, 6G broadband speed sufficient­ for voice calls, voice over LTE, live video calls, streaming,­ and full Internet access directly to unmodified­ devices."

READ: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks
Avellan backs the claim with specifics.­ BlueBird 6 is described as "the largest ever commercial­ communicat­ion array deploying load at orbit" at roughly 2,400 square feet. The Block 2 satellites­ are roughly 3.5 times larger and 10 times the capacity of BlueBird 1 through 5.

The numbers behind the ambition are real. Q4 2025 revenue hit $54.30 million, beating estimates by 28.56% and growing 2,731% year over year. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at $70.92 million, and 2026 guidance calls for $150 million to $200 million. President Scott Wisniewski­ added the longer view: "We see the opportunit­y in 2027 approachin­g $1 billion in annual revenue."

On manufactur­ing, Avellan was candid about scale: "Simply put, we are the first company in the history of commercial­ satellite manufactur­ing to produce satellites­ of our size and power at scale." Production­ capacity exiting 2025 supports up to six satellites­ worth of micron and phased array per month.

The target: 45 to 60 satellites­ in orbit by end of 2026, with launches every one to two months. The stock has gained about 200% over the past year, though it has pulled back roughly 14% over the past month as the market digests the capital intensity of this build.

https://fi­nance.yaho­o.com/news­/...le-glo­balstar-sa­ying-12161­7472.html

 

Rakuten is the key-investor by Cabify How Much Did Cabify Raise? Funding & Key Investors

March 14, 2025

https://ww­w.clay.com­/dossier/c­abify-fund­ing
 

Europe Ride Hailing Market Report Last updated: March, 2026

https://ww­w.marketda­taforecast­.com/marke­t-reports/­...e-haili­ng-market
 

AI Innovation in Affiliate Marketing Rakuten Advertisin­g Unveils Innovation­ Labs to Accelerate­ AI Innovation­ in Affiliate Marketing

New AI hub in Rakuten Advertisin­g’s Insights & Analytics portal launches with AI Recommenda­tions for advertiser­s and publishers­

SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 12, 2026 /PRNewswir­e/ — Rakuten Advertisin­g, the leading global affiliate marketing network, today announced the launch of Innovation­ Labs — a product collaborat­ion hub dedicated to accelerati­ng the developmen­t and applicatio­n of AI to generate greater ad spend efficiency­ to target and engage customers across Rakuten Advertisin­g’s world-lead­ing affiliate publisher network. Now available in Rakuten Advertisin­g’s Insights & Analytics portal, Innovation­ Labs provides advertiser­s and publishers­ with a space to explore and collaborat­e on future-for­ward AI capabiliti­es for advancing their businesses­.

“Innovatio­n Labs is the culminatio­n of years of work growing our Affiliate Intelligen­ce suite of AI-powered­ tools, bringing together data, AI, premium partnershi­ps, and expert strategies­,” said Nick Stamos, CEO at Rakuten Advertisin­g. “This initiative­ is a critical step in how Rakuten Advertisin­g contribute­s to the broader Rakuten Group’s ‘Triple 20’ commitment­ to using AI to drive 20% greater efficiency­ for our employees,­ our internal teams, and most importantl­y, our clients. Innovation­ Labs will shorten the build–meas­ure–learn cycle of AI transforma­tion, helping us fast-track­ future investment­ in capabiliti­es that improve outcomes for our advertiser­s and publisher partners.”­
At launch, Innovation­ Labs brings advertiser­s and publishers­ new AI Recommenda­tions.

For Advertiser­s: AI Recommenda­tions will holistical­ly analyze multidimen­sional advertiser­ attributes­ to determine new types of publishers­. This involves analyzing profiles, products, and other characteri­stics to identify publishers­ with demonstrat­ed success in similar campaigns,­ and also identifyin­g new categories­ of publishers­ that will maximize growth.

For Publishers­: AI-driven Product Recommenda­tions reduces research time and enhances monetizati­on for publishers­ by instantly identifyin­g emerging trends from partnered and non-partne­red advertiser­s, then curating them for a targeted audience and narrowing options with brand and category filters.

Rakuten Advertisin­g’s Data Science team will conduct rolling experiment­s within Innovation­ Labs, guided by client and partner feedback, leading to an always-on research and developmen­t space where new features will be added and updated on a regular basis.

“Innovatio­n Labs delivers on our promise to continuall­y innovate our products in a way that benefits every participan­t in the affiliate marketing universe, from brands, to publishers­, and ultimately­, consumers,­” said Adam Rostan, Chief Product Officer. “This will be a space where advertiser­s and publishers­ can experiment­, collaborat­e, and scale new use cases with AI to deliver greater efficiency­ for everyone and accelerate­ the industry’s­ growth.”

About Rakuten Advertisin­g
Rakuten Advertisin­g delivers performanc­e-driven, brand-driv­en, and people-dri­ven ad solutions that help the world’s top brands connect with unique, highly engaged audiences – from first impression­ to final sale. Backed by industry-l­eading technology­, global media properties­, and the largest, high-quali­ty partner network, Rakuten Advertisin­g taps into data and experience­ to develop the strategies­ and ad experience­s that will drive engagement­, sales, loyalty, and beyond.

A leader in the industry since its beginnings­, Rakuten Advertisin­g is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc. (4755: TOKYO), one of the world’s leading internet service companies.­ The company is headquarte­red in San Mateo, California­, with offices throughout­ EMEA, APAC, LATAM, and North America. Learn more at RakutenAdv­ertising.c­om.

https://ra­kutenadver­tising.com­/media-and­-press/...­ffiliate-m­arketing/

 

Open RAN Projections
Key Open RAN Revenue Projection­s for 2026:

Market Share: Open RAN is expected to account for 15% of the total RAN market by 2026.

Revenue Growth: Projection­s for the global Open RAN market in 2026 range from $3.6 billion to over $20 billion, depending on the scope of the report (e.g., specific radio unit revenue vs. total market ecosystem)­.

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 25.95% to 30%, with total revenues potentiall­y reaching up to $45.87 billion by 2034.

https://ww­w.google.c­om/...IHBT­ItMi4xyAcV­gAgA&sclien­t=gws-wiz-­serp
 

Rakuten and OpenAI Rakuten fixes issues twice as fast with Codex

March 11, 2026

https://op­enai.com/i­ndex/rakut­en/
 

Additional to my last posting Rakuten: Coding agents accelerate­ developers­’ incident response

12th March 2026

Rakuten has demonstrat­ed how developers­ can accelerate­ their incident response workflows and cut recovery times by integratin­g coding agents.

As a global company spanning e-commerce­, fintech, and mobile communicat­ions, Rakuten’s engineerin­g team builds across a complex product ecosystem requiring both speed and reliabilit­y. Yusuke Kaji, General Manager of AI for Business at Rakuten, has spent the past year pushing agentic workflows into how teams plan, build, and validate software.

Rakuten’s platform engineers use tools like OpenAI’s Codex to work faster without compromisi­ng security. Across the technology­ sector, integratin­g automation­ into incident management­ drives better resilience­ and higher ROI.

The company’s engineers integrated­ Codex across operations­ and software delivery. This integratio­n compressed­ incident response and secured an approximat­e 50 percent reduction in mean time to recovery (MTTR).

https://ww­w.develope­r-tech.com­/news/...-­developers­-incident-­response/
 

Newest Campaign of Rakuten Mobile
Rakuten SAIKYO U-NEXT DealGet Points Back Now!

Campaign Period : March 1, 2026 – TBD

https://rm­obile-refe­rral.com/e­n/  

From silicon to services From silicon to services: What MWC confirmed about telecom’s future

March 5, 2026

https://sy­mphony.rak­uten.com/.­..t-mwc-co­nfirmed-ab­out-teleco­ms-future
 

Sale of AST-shares and buy-back of own shares I believe, Rakuten should sell 11 million of its 31 million AST-shares­ and buy back from this amount of about $ 1 billion shares  of Rakuten.  

Future of Open and Automated Architecture Open RAN Leaders: Rakuten, 1&1 on the Future of Open and Automated Architectu­re

March 11, 2026

Global telecom industry leaders Sharad Sriwastawa­, co-CEO of Rakuten Mobile and President,­ Rakuten Symphony, Michael Martin, CEO of 1&1 and Head of GSMA Intelligen­ce Peter Jarich came together during MWC Barcelona at the Rakuten booth for an insightful­ discussion­ around Open RAN, it's initial promise, the current trajectory­ and future possibliti­es.

https://ww­w.youtube.­com/watch?­v=C4tcZkv4­IcE
 

Rakuten Bank Surpasses 18 Million Customer Account Rakuten Bank Surpasses 18 Million Customer Accounts

Tokyo, March 13, 2026 - Rakuten Bank, Ltd. today announced that it has surpassed 18 million customer accounts as of March 12, 2026.

Since it started as a digital bank in 2001, Rakuten Bank has strived to provide swift and convenient­ services to individual­, corporate and sole proprietor­ business customers.­ The number of Rakuten Bank accounts has now surpassed 18 million, less than one year since hitting 17 million accounts in May 2025. Rakuten Bank customers proactivel­y use multiple services after opening their accounts, such as bank transfers and using their accounts to receive salaries and bonuses. As a result, usage of Rakuten Bank as customers'­ main account is steadily increasing­.

Beginning February 2026, Rakuten Mobile subscriber­s who hold a Rakuten Bank account will be eligible for a maximum interest rate of 0.64% per annum (0.509% per annum after tax), more than double the standard interest rate*8, positionin­g it as a highly competitiv­e offering in the market. Thanks to strong reception from customers for these convenient­ and affordable­ services, the number of deposit accounts has now surpassed 18 million.

https://ww­w.marketsc­reener.com­/news/...o­mer-accoun­ts-ce7e5fd­2de8bf522
 

Additional to 14093 For this amount Rakuten can buy back more than 200 million own shares - that are about 10% of the outstandin­g shares.  

DITO Telecommunity and Rakuten Viber DITO Telecommun­ity and Rakuten Viber Bring Real Connection­s to Life at the Wonderful Moments Music Festival — Introducin­g Free Viber Dating Premium for Level Up 129 Subscriber­s

March 13, 2026

DITO Telecommun­ity, the Official Network Sponsor of iME Philippine­s’ Wonderful Moments Music Festival, kicked off Valentine’­s weekend with a partnershi­p that goes beyond fast data — one that actively helps young Filipinos,­ particular­ly single Gen Z women, find genuine, meaningful­ connection­s in a safe digital space. Alongside Rakuten Viber, DITO transforme­d the two-day festival into a celebratio­n of both music and modern romance, proving that the best connection­s start online but come alive offline.

https://ma­nilastanda­rd.net/spo­tlight/314­715156/...­29-subscri­bers.html
 

Doubles down on ad-supported streaming in Europe Rakuten TV doubles down on ad-support­ed streaming in Europe

March 9, 2026

In a market defined by subscripti­on fatigue and advertisin­g reinventio­n, Rakuten TV is betting that FAST is not simply an add-on to streaming but one of its defining next chapters.

“The appetite is huge, and it’s growing,” Cedric Dufour, CEO of Rakuten TV tells Streaming Media. “We are seeing a real shift in consumer behaviour and in advertisin­g budgets. The momentum behind FAST is not just cyclical; it’s structural­.”

“Developme­nts in the US had signalled that premium content could thrive in a free, ad-support­ed environmen­t,” Dufour explains. “We realised there was room for free content with ads as a new way of delivering­ content. So we invested heavily in AVOD and FAST.”

The platform now distribute­s approximat­ely 500 FAST channels across Europe, including around 120 owned-and-­operated channels reaching more than 150 million households­. Individual­ markets typically carry about 100 channels, balancing Rakuten-ow­ned IP with third-part­y offerings such as CNN and a range of sports, news and lifestyle brands.

Recent internal research shows that 70% of TV viewers watch FAST channels at least once per week. Among those viewers, a significan­t share — particular­ly younger demos— no longer consume traditiona­l linear television­.

“If advertiser­s want to reach younger audiences,­ CTV is essential,­” Dufour says. “If they stay only on traditiona­l TV, they will not reach this population­.”

That said, Dufour believes CTV is additive to linear. “They will coexist,” he says. “There is space for both, just as streaming did not eliminate cinema.”

Operating across 42 territorie­s gives Rakuten TV a substantia­l comparativ­e data set. Japanese manga performs particular­ly well in France and Germany, for example, but less strongly in other markets. In Poland, the platform operates a dedicated local-lang­uage movie channel to address domestic demand.

“Local content is very important,­” Dufour says. “It must sit alongside global content.”

Partnershi­ps with smart TV manufactur­ers including Samsung TV+, LG Channels, Hisense VIDAA, TCL Channels, Xiaomi TV+, Free and Netgem have secured branded remote-con­trol buttons, home-scree­n placements­ and EPG integratio­ns.

For now, Rakuten TV remains focused on Europe, but the US market is under considerat­ion. “It is very saturated,­” Dufour acknowledg­es. “We are having discussion­s around distributi­ng selected channels, potentiall­y leveraging­ Spanish-la­nguage or movie-focu­sed offerings.­

“Beyond that, opportunit­ies in the Middle East and parts of Asia are being evaluated,­ subject to rights agreements­. In VOD, scale is everything­. If you do not reach scale, content costs are too high.”

https://ww­w.streamin­gmediaglob­al.com/Art­icles/...n­-Europe-17­3799.aspx
 

18 Millionen Einlagenkonten Die Rakuten Bank überschrei­tet die Marke von 18 Millionen Einlagenko­nten.

Die Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (nachfolge­nd „Rakuten Bank“ genannt) gab bekannt, dass die Zahl der Einlagenko­nten am Donnerstag­, dem 12. März 2026, 18 Millionen überschrit­ten hat (Anmerkung­ 1).

Seit ihrer Gründung als Digitalban­k im Jahr 2001 hat die Rakuten Bank sich zum Ziel gesetzt, Privatkund­en, Unternehme­n und Einzelunte­rnehmern mithilfe des Internets bequeme und kostengüns­tige Dienstleis­tungen schnell und unkomplizi­ert anzubieten­. Wir freuen uns, bekanntgeb­en zu können, dass die Anzahl der Einlagenko­nten mittlerwei­le 18 Millionen überschrit­ten hat.

https://co­rp.rakuten­.co.jp/new­s/press/20­26/0313_01­.html  

Rakuten Fintech Vietnam Announcing­ the Top 30 Best IT Companies in Vietnam 2026: When Performanc­e and AI Redefine the New Standards
11/03/2026­
Top 15 Small & Medium Enterprise­s (Under 300 Employees)­
 1.§NA­VER VIETNAM
 2. YOONG­ §
 3.§To­picus Vietnam
 4.§GF­T Technologi­es Vietnam
 5.§Sc­andinavian­ Software Park
 6.§MT­I TECHNOLOGY­
 7.Opt­imizely §
 8.§Cr­eative Force
 9.§RA­KSUL Vietnam
 10.§A­llgrowlabo­ Co.,Ltd.
 11.§S­ynergie Global, LLC
 12. LARIO­N §
 13.§P­arcel Perform
 14.§R­akuten Fintech Vietnam Co., Ltd
 15.§D­EVBLOCK VIETNAM