Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
https://tokyointernationalmeetup.com/2025/05/19/rakutenmobile/
May 14, 2025
Rakuten Rewards, the cash-back shopping platform, has appointed Wendy Bergh as chief marketing officer (CMO). Bergh brings a track record of marketing leadership across high-growth e-commerce and technology companies. She will lead efforts to enhance the company’s member-focused programs and initiatives.
“I’m incredibly excited to join Rakuten Rewards,” said Bergh. “The business has a strong foundation, a loyal member community and significant opportunities for continued growth. I look forward to deepening member engagement by delivering more rewarding everyday shopping experiences while strengthening our value to merchant partners seeking to connect with our vibrant and active shopper base.”
Rakuten, founded in 1999, formerly Ebates, is a cash-back and shopping rewards company. Its revenue comes from affiliate network links. Members of the site click through affiliate links before shopping at a retailer’s site. The company reports earning its members $3.6 billion in cash back for shopping through Rakuten.
https://sgbonline.com/...en-rewards-appoints-chief-marketing-officer/
https://www.virginmedia.com/the-edit/tv/virgin-tv-channel-guide
9 hours ago
Mobile service is a basic necessity in Japan – including for those who hail from abroad. But for many international residents, between language barriers and puzzling paperwork, signing up for a cell plan can be a tricky undertaking.
Rakuten Mobile is changing that – and Japan’s global community is taking notice.
A recent survey by MMD Labo revealed that Rakuten Mobile is now the most-used carrier among international residents in Japan, claiming a 21% share – well ahead of the second-place provider at 15.6%. Even more telling: 25.5% of international respondents revealed that Rakuten Mobile would be their top consideration next time they switched carriers.
Word of mouth fueling organic growth
After just a few short years in operation, Rakuten Mobile has earned a reputation for good service among subscribers in Japan. Last year it won the top spot in the Oricon Customer Satisfaction Survey for the second year running.
“The fact that global subscribers are driving organic growth through word of mouth is a strong indicator that we’re doing something right.”
Yu Nishimura, Senior Manager, Rakuten Mobile’s Marketing Planning Department
Subscribers praise the simple pricing plans and quality of coverage – a product of expanded bandwidth, breakthroughs in 5G and rapid improvements in the fundamental technology driving the network. As of February 2025, Rakuten Mobile had surpassed 8.5 million subscribers in Japan.
Among non-Japanese subscribers, the recent survey highlighted two fundamental draws of the service: price and data capacity. Rakuten Mobile’s single, unlimited plan offers value that few competitors can match, especially for data-heavy users.
The survey also revealed that word of mouth is Rakuten Mobile’s most powerful marketing tool among global residents. New users are discovering the service not through advertising, but primarily through friends, coworkers and social groups.
“The fact that global subscribers are driving organic growth through word of mouth is a strong indicator that we’re doing something right,” remarked Yu Nishimura, Senior Manager of Rakuten Mobile’s Marketing Planning Department. “Subscribers are clearly seeing the value and telling others, which is the best endorsement we can hope for.”
Rakuten Mobile’s strong reputation is translating into real numbers. Non-Japanese subscribers now account for around 25% of all contracts, an 8% year-on-year increase.
Speaking your language
Rakuten Mobile’s success among Japan’s global residents is far from accidental: since launch, the carrier has made intentional moves to support non-Japanese customers. Specifically, the company has targeted long-standing friction points surrounding accessibility, pricing and usability.
Multilingual support is one standout example. Customers at Rakuten Mobile stores have access to support materials in English, Chinese, Nepali, Vietnamese and more. Multilingual leaflets help explain contracts and documents, while staff at some 162 stores around Japan use Pockettalk AI translators to aid communication further.
In May 2025, Rakuten Mobile expanded multilingual efforts even further. In addition to Japanese and English, the Rakuten Mobile website is now available in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Portuguese.
“Overcoming the language barrier when signing up for a mobile contract has long been a challenge for global users in Japan” explained Nishimura. “We’re happy to see that our efforts to simplify the process and provide inclusive services are paying off.”
Setting a new standard
Rakuten Mobile has expressed a commitment to further improvements to international accessibility, aiming to set a new standard for carriers in Japan. Nishimura hopes that Rakuten Mobile’s multilingual success will serve as a positive example to Japan’s wider telecommunications industry.
“The success we’ve had in attracting such a broad, diverse base of customers gives us confidence that the product we offer is fundamentally appealing,” said Nishimura. “We hope other carriers take note. Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought – it should be an integral part of all services from the outset.”
https://rakuten.today/blog/...-residents-choosing-rakuten-mobile.html
1 day ago
https://rakuten.today/blog/...nnects-inspires-affiliate-industry.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/N5G.F/
Rakuten owning 50% of Rakuten Bank = $4 billion
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ASTS/
Rakuten owning 31 shares of ASTS = $1.1 billion
AST SpaceMobile Inc. (ASTS) is helping shape the future of global internet connectivity through its ambitious satellite-based technology. With the potential to expand reliable internet access to remote and underserved regions, support growing government contracts, and meet the rising demands of data connectivity across industries, satellite internet is emerging as a transformative force in communications (and the stock market).
The market for satellite internet is projected to grow rapidly, with analysts estimating it could reach $24.6 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 30%. ASTS stock is following this trend, recording a surging 14% gain over the past week and a 47% gain year-to-date.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...e-stock-asts-rallies-190600745.html
Jefferies Adjusts Rakuten's Price Target to 900 Yen From 730 Yen, Keeps at Hold
Published on 07/25/2024 at 05:30, updated on 07/25/2024 at 05:31
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...Keeps-at-Hold-47466927/
Separate folders for chats with customers, business calls and search by category: Viber launches new features for small businesses in Ukraine
11 June 2025, 11:542025-06-11
Rakuten Viber is launching new free features to help small businesses in Ukraine more effectively communicate with customers and promote their services. The updates are part of Viber Business Profiles, launching in Ukraine in the fall of 2024. Business Profiles allow small business owners to maintain their online presence and more effectively engage customers.
https://dev.ua/en/news/rakuten-viber-1749631531
https://www.facebook.com/infobip/videos/...en-viber/1746442729239450/
Taking telco AI ops to its iPhone moment
By Keith Dyer 12 June 2025
AT&T expansion is just the beginning of Rakuten Symphony's ambitions in AI operations, as it eyes a future iPhone moment for the AI user interface.
After MWC 2024, TMN wrote about how AT&T was adopting new site management software from Rakuten Symphony to digitise and automate the process of deploying, upgrading and managing sites across its network.
At the time, we quoted Igal Elbaz, SVP, Network CTO, AT&T saying that there were around 7,000 users of Rakuten Symphony’s Site Management software amongst those responsible for deploying and managing its sites, with the software replacing a large number of legacy systems. Elbaz also said there was potential for AT&T to expand its use of Rakuten Symphony’s automated solutions.
He said, “There has been a lot of benefit already in the migration from the old systems to the new system… We’re very excited about this and are thinking about where else we can extend that capability in other parts where we are doing engineering and build."
Today Rakuten Symphony and AT&T have announced an expansion of their work together, with the operator giving an wider role to Rakuten Symphony’s Site Manager within its processes for managing its Open RAN site re-build, as well as fibre site rollout. A release from the two companies said AT&T has extended a multiyear collaboration agreement to expand adoption of Rakuten Symphony Site Management to accelerate AT&T’s Network Simplification Transformation project and 5G Open RAN deployments.
https://the-mobile-network.com/2025/06/...i-ops-to-its-iphone-moment/
AT&T extended a partnership with Rakuten Symphony to spur the development of its open RAN network by simplifying operations across legacy systems to support cell site functions.
The operator is using Rakuten Site Management to streamline operations and replace the legacy systems, allowing AT&T to optimise productivity for its open RAN build.
After announcing a $14 billion open RAN deal with Ericsson in 2023, AT&T’s goal is to move 70 per cent of its 5G network traffic across open hardware by late 2026.
The plan includes scaling its open RAN environment this year.
Rakuten Site Management provides a workflow driven end-to-end process orchestrator for site planning, design, compliance and construction.
It is currently in use by more than 10,000 registered users within AT&T and its contractors.
The operator is also using Rakuten Site Management to orchestrate its fibre expansion plans.
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/rakuten/...ll%2520site%2520functions.