Rakuten Mobile Surpasses 8 Million Subscribers

Tokyo, October 21, 2024 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced that its total number of subscribers has surpassed 8 million as of October 18, 2024, four and a half years since the company’s full-scale launch as a mobile network operator (MNO)^*1. In addition, Rakuten Mobile's MNO main line usage among customers has increased the most out of all mobile carriers in Japan according to a recent independent third-party survey^*2.

Since the full-scale launch of its mobile carrier service in April 2020, Rakuten Mobile has continued on its mission to democratize the mobile industry, surpassing 8 million subscribers in only four and a half years. The company offers an affordable and simple service plan, the Rakuten Saikyo Plan, and has continued to strengthen the Rakuten network area through the launch of 700 MHz spectrum “platinum band” services and other initiatives^*3.

Mickey Mikitani, Chairman, Rakuten Mobile, commented, “I am thrilled to announce that Rakuten Mobile has surpassed the 8 million subscriber mark. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all our incredible customers for making this milestone a reality. Since we launched with the mission to democratize the mobile industry, we have expanded our network nationwide and vastly increased both our network quality and speed. Looking ahead, we are committed to further enhancing our network quality and deepening our collaboration with the Rakuten Ecosystem to deliver best-in-class mobile services to customers across Japan, as well as continuing to broaden our service offerings for our enterprise clients."

As part of the company’s commitment to offering affordable mobile services to a broad range of customers, starting in September 2024, Rakuten Mobile began offering the Saikyo Senior Program to empower and support senior citizens in Japan. Under this program, customers ages 65 and up will receive 110 Rakuten Points each month, effectively reducing the plan fee for 3GB usage from 880 yen (968 yen including tax) to 780 yen (858 yen including tax)^*4,5,6 after applying the family discount. Together with the Saikyo Family Program, Saikyo Youth Program and Saikyo Kids Program launched earlier this year, Rakuten Mobile now provides even more reasonably priced mobile services to a wider range of demographics.  

The recent launch of these programs has sparked an increase in data usage, especially among younger subscribers. As of the launch of the Rakuten Senior Program in September, Rakuten Saikyo Plan subscribers averaged 27.9GB of data per month, with subscribers aged 13-22 driving usage even higher at 44.2GB per month. This increasing demand for data lifted ARPU by 103 yen from February to July 2024 for younger customers aged 13-22^*7.

Rakuten Mobile achieves outstanding results in consumer surveys

The No. 1 mobile carrier for increasing main line usage
Rakuten Mobile (MNO) emerged as the mobile carrier with the highest increase in usage as a main line, up 1.6 percentage points compared to February 2024, according to the September 2024 MNO Share and Satisfaction Survey conducted by Mobile Marketing Data Labo. The survey included 33,106 respondents using MNOs on their primary smartphones compared to February 2024 (n=33,128)^*2.

No. 1 in interest and attention for four consecutive months
For four consecutive months, Rakuten Mobile’s interest and attention score has ranked No. 1 compared to other carriers, according to the company’s market trend surveys of everyday consumers^*8.

Enhanced attractiveness of pricing plans
When asked about their perception of Rakuten Mobile pricing plans, 48% of respondents to a Rakuten Mobile survey found the Rakuten Saikyo Plan attractive. This marks a substantial increase of almost 20% compared to May 2023’s survey, just one and a half years after the plan's launch^*9.

For enterprise customers, Rakuten Mobile continues to leverage the strengths of the Rakuten Group to provide services tailored to business needs. Rakuten Saikyo Plan Business has found favor with a wide range of corporate clients, including partner companies from Rakuten Travel, Rakuten Ichiba and across the Rakuten Ecosystem.

Rakuten Mobile will continue its efforts to improve network quality and expand its range of services so that all customers, from families to corporate clients, can enjoy best-in-class mobile services anywhere in Japan.

Website
Rakuten Mobile official site

Notes
*1 The 8 million subscribers number includes Rakuten Saikyo Plan, Rakuten Saikyo Plan Business, Rakuten Turbo, Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), and Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) service customers as of October 18, 2024. The number of subscribers in this press release includes BCP customers. (BCP is the B2B pricing plan for Business Continuity Plan purposes.) The total number of subscribers, excluding BCP lines, for MNO and MVNE combined is 7.59 million. The number of MNO subscribers (excluding BCP and MVNE) is 7.29 million.
*2 The MNO share is 90.7%, with Rakuten Mobile leading the main usage rate increase at 1.6 points, followed by UQ mobile and Y!mobile with a 0.3 point increase each (October 10, 2024) https://mmdlabo.jp/investigation/detail_2372.html
*3 The platinum band network area will be gradually expanded starting with major urban areas. Press Release:
Rakuten Mobile Launches Commercial Services Using 700 MHz “Platinum Band” (June 27, 2024)  
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2024/0627_02/
*4 Rakuten Saikyo Plan (Data Type) and Apple Watch Family Sharing customers are not eligible for this program.
*5 Applies starting from the month of users’ 65th birthday.
*6 Refers to the price after accounting for points awarded later upon meeting program conditions, and it differs from the actual payment amount. Call charges, etc., are not included, and entry is required.
*7 Results as of September 13, 2024. Research by Rakuten Mobile.
*8 Source: Market Trend Survey (February to August 2024, 20,000 samples) - The percentage of respondents who selected Rakuten Mobile as the most attractive mobile company when considering mobile phone companies.
*9 Source: Rakuten Mobile Survey (May 2023 to October 2024, approximately 800 samples) - The percentage of respondents who selected the Rakuten Saikyo Plan as an attractive point or a deciding factor when considering subscribing with Rakuten Mobile.

*Product names and service names published in this press release are generally trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Trademarks such as TM and ® may be omitted when trademarks are listed in this press release.