Sudhakar Pandey, head of RAN at Rakuten Cellular, instructed RCR Wi-fi Information that the telco is anticipating round 7% throughput acquire in excessive site visitors areas with the broader protection resulting from greater acquire antennas
In sum – what to know:
3,000 radios in first part – Rakuten Cellular is putting in round 3,000 32T32R large MIMO O-RAN radios as a part of a broader rollout technique.
7% throughput acquire anticipated – The operator anticipates roughly 7% greater throughput in high-traffic areas resulting from wider protection and better acquire antennas.
Easy O-RAN integration – The 1Finity MIMO radios built-in with out main challenges, with configurations largely aligned to O-RAN specs.
Japanese service Rakuten Cellular plans to deploy round 3,000 32T32R large MIMO O-RAN radios as a part of the primary part of a broader rollout, the operator confirmed in an interview with RCR Wi-fi Information.
Sudhakar Pandey, head of RAN at Rakuten Cellular, stated: “Rakuten Cellular plans to deploy round 3,000 radios within the first part of a bigger deployment. We predict round 7% throughput acquire in excessive site visitors areas with the broader protection resulting from greater acquire antennas.”
The deployment makes use of 1Finity large MIMO radios and is concentrated on enhancing efficiency in dense, high-traffic places. Based on Pandey, the mixing with Rakuten’s present O-RAN infrastructure has been easy.
“It was a really easy integration. The 1finitiy MIMO integration didn’t face any problem as a result of majority of the configuration have been already aligned with the O-RAN specs,” he stated, referring to alignment with O-RAN requirements and Rakuten Symphony’s CU/DU structure.
Pandey added that the rollout helps the operator’s broader 5G growth technique. “The deployment of 1Finity radios is a component our 5G growth throughout Japan, particularly in excessive density areas.”
Earlier this month, Rakuten Cellular and 1Finity, a Fujitsu firm, had introduced a collaboration to deploy 1Finity’s large MIMO O-RAN radios throughout Rakuten Cellular’s nationwide 5G community in Japan.
The Japanese telco additionally famous that 1Finity large MIMO radios are based mostly on Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QRU100 platforms and are designed to fulfill O-RAN specs. Based on the businesses, the passively cooled radio models are supposed to assist sustainable community growth whereas sustaining excessive power effectivity and long-term operational reliability.
Final yr, the Japanese service had named Cisco, Nokia, and F5 as its lead know-how companions for the deployment of its 5G Standalone (SA) community. The Japanese firm famous that these alliances will “considerably improve its community capabilities, simplify operations by means of AI-driven programs, and drive innovation” throughout Japan.
The preliminary part facilities on capability enhancement in city zones, the place site visitors masses are highest, with additional deployment anticipated as a part of the telco’s wider 5G community evolution.

