Rakuten Mobile Commences Radio Frequency Testing for 700 MHz "Platinum Band"

Tokyo, April 30, 2024 – Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, today began radio frequency testing for its 700 MHz spectrum, also known as the “platinum band”^*1, allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Rakuten Mobile is preparing to launch base station operations using the 700 MHz band, drawing on its expertise gained building Japan’s first fully virtualized cloud-native mobile network based on Open RAN standards in the 1.7GHz band. After completing radio frequency testing, the company is aiming for the early roll out of commercial service using the 700 MHz platinum band.

Since the full-scale launch of its mobile carrier service in April 2020, Rakuten Mobile has continued to enhance network quality and coverage through the build-out of 4G and 5G base stations in addition to roaming agreements with its roaming partner. On top of achieving population ratio coverage of 99.9%^*2, the company has consistently been recognized by independent research organizations like Opensignal, a global provider of network experience and market performance insights, who named Rakuten Mobile a leader among Japan’s mobile operators in five network performance categories^*3.

Spectrum in the 700 MHz platinum band offers better indoor building penetration and enables better connectivity indoors and in underground locations. Rakuten Mobile plans to gradually deploy platinum band services using its existing network of base stations, starting with urban areas with a high volume of users and traffic.

Rakuten Mobile is committed to further enhancing its network in Japan and to providing customers with best-in-class mobile services while keeping costs controlled through strategic initiatives such as these.

Notes
*1 Press release: Notice Regarding Approval of Special Base Station Deployment Plan for 700 MHz “Platinum Band” Allocation (October 23, 2023)
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2023/1023_01.html
*2 As of September 2023. The population coverage ratio is calculated based on the number of the approximately 500m zones used in the national census in which communication is possible in more than 50% of the area covered. Includes network partner areas.
*3 Press release: Rakuten Mobile Leads Japanese Competitors in Mobile Game Experience and Fastest 5G Speed Categories
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2024/0425_01

*Product names and service names listed in this press release are generally trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Trademarks such as TM and ® may be omitted in the descriptions of each company's trademarks in this press release.