Rakuten Mobile Opens Applications for “Free Supporter Program” from October 1
Voice and data services to be provided to 5,000 subscribers free of charge. Participants in the program eligible to be awarded up to 16,000 Rakuten Super Points
Tokyo, September 30, 2019 - Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that it will open applications for the “Free Supporter Program” for its mobile operator service from 12:00 a.m. on October 1, 2019. The Free Supporter Program will offer use voice and data services free of charge initially to 5,000 subscribers. Participants in the program are eligible to be awarded up to 16,000 Rakuten Super Points.
About the Free Supporter Program
Rakuten Mobile will offer the world’s first end-to-end fully virtualized, cloud native network. In order to ensure the stability and quality of the service for customers and to continue to improve the network based on customer feedback and requests, the company will initially open applications for the Free Supporter Program to 5,000 subscribers living in the 23 wards of Tokyo, Osaka City, Nagoya City and Kobe City. If the number of applications exceeds 5,000, a lottery will be held to select the first wave of participants.
Participants in the program will be able to use the mobile operator services offered by Rakuten as an MNO (mobile network operator), including unlimited domestic and overseas calls*1 and data free of charge until March 31, 2020. In addition, participants who provide feedback on their experience with the service through surveys specified by the company during the program will be awarded 1,000 Rakuten Super Points per month, up to a total of 6,000 points for the six month period.
To take part in the Free Supporter Program, subscribers will be required to use one of the compatible devices from the lineup of five models*2 to go on sale from October, or one of the four compatible devices already available, including devices purchased from companies other than Rakuten Mobile. Additionally, 10,000 Rakuten Super Points will be awarded to participants who purchase one of the six models*3 eligible for the reward on the contract page when signing up for the program.
Devices compatible with the Free Supporter Program
| Manufacturer | Product Name | Eligible for 10,000 Rakuten Super Point reward |
|---|---|---|
| OPPO Japan K.K. | OPPO Reno A 128GB | YES |
| Samsung Electronics Japan Co., Ltd. | Galaxy A7 | YES |
| Sharp Corporation | AQUOS sense3 lite | YES |
| Sharp Corporation | AQUOS sense2 SH-M08*4 | NO |
| Sharp Corporation | AQUOS R2 compact SH-M09*4 | NO |
| Sony Mobile Communications Inc. | Xperia Ace | YES |
| Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited | arrows RX | YES |
| Huawei Technologies Japan K.K. | HUAWEI P30 lite*4 、*5 | YES |
| Huawei Technologies Japan K.K. | HUAWEI nova lite 3*4 、*5 | NO |
For more information about the Free Supporter Program, please see the following site: https://mobile.rakuten.co.jp/rn/ (Japanese only)
*1 Overseas calls can only be made from Japan.
*2 The five models are: OPPO Reno A 128GB, Galaxy A7, AQUOS sense3 lite, Xperia Ace and arrows RX.
*3 The six models are: OPPO Reno A 128GB, Galaxy A7, AQUOS sense3 lite, Xperia Ace, arrows RX and HUAWEI P30 lite.
*4 Software updates to make devices compatible with the Rakuten network are planned to be made during or after early October 2019 for the AQUOS sense2 SH-M08, and during or after mid-October for the AQUOS R2 compact SH-M09, HUAWEI P30 lite and HUAWEI nova lite 3. Details of the software update will be announced on the Rakuten Mobile service page: https://mobile.rakuten.co.jp/ (Japanese only)
*5 Devices with a build number which starts with C635 in brackets are compatible with the Rakuten network. Build number: x.x.x.xxx (C635xxxxxxx)
*Please note that the information contained in press releases is current as of the date of release.