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Rakuten Mobile Inc on Friday announced that due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company expects a delay in the launch of its 5th generation mobile communications systems (5G) service.
The 5G service originally planned for June 2020 is expected to be delayed by approximately three months due to the impact of COVID-19 on part of the company’s global supply chain.
Rakuten Mobile said it will continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and plans to make a further announcement regarding details of the timing for launch. There are currently no plans to change the company’s 5G base station deployment plans for FY2020 submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and thank all of our employees and partner staff for their commitment to our 5G rollout during these difficult times,” said Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CTO of Rakuten Mobile. “We will work to minimize the impact of the pandemic and look forward to launching our 5G service in the near future.”
© Japan Today
2 Comments
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Samit Basu
Rakuten made the mistake of choosing Nokia, the worst 5G equipment vendor at the moment.
robert maes
The mobile market entrance is another major strategic mistake from Rakuten. It has no chance to ever make this into a viable profitable company. The big 3 will match any price advantage position. It is much too late to join that business in a saturated and even declining market. The pandemic of course makes it even more irrelevant. All though during the virus crisis usage of phone and internet is up, so should be a plus for Rakuten.
which reminds me ? Why does the government not order the big 3 to reduce their bills by 25 % to ALL users ? At least for a 6 months period ?
Japan has some of the worlds most expensive phone charges and the big 3 can easily digest such a temporary reduction. In general Japanese multinationals do almost nothing to support Japanese people in these hard times. Please do not mention the pathetic “ efforts “ of Sony or Sharp, making a few thousand masks a day. Leave that to the professional manufacturers and contribute in a meaningful way.