Altiostar virtualized and Open RAN tech is already part of the Rakuten Communications Platform
Building on their existing relationship which has seen Rakuten Mobile use Altiostar virtualized RAN software in its greenfield Japanese network, as well as inclusion in the company’s Rakuten Communications Platform offering, parent company Rakuten Group today announced it will acquire U.S.-based Altiostar at a valuation of $1 billion.
Altiostar focused on vRAN and Open RAN software for 4G and 5G networks. Rakuten worked with Altiostar to build its network in Japan and tapped the company to participate in Rakuten Communications Platform, a bundle of cloud-native network blueprints with interoperable, multi-vendor kit and other professional services. In May 2019, Rakuten invested in Altiostar; other investors include Qualcomm, Telefonica’s venture arm, Tech Mahindra, Cisco and others.
Rakuten Group CEO Mickey Mikitani said in a statement, “We’re entering a new era where mobile network operators can choose how to build and deploy a network by working with the world’s most innovative software companies to create open and interoperable solutions. We’re delighted to welcome the Altiostar team to the Rakuten family as we share a common passion for empowering mobile networks through disruptive innovation, offering mobile operators around the world secure, cost-effective and highly agile technology.”
According to Rakuten, Altiostar CEO Ashraf Dahod will continue in his role and take on a position within Rakuten Communications Platform. Altiostar will maintain its headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
Dahod said the acquisition “will allows us to build on our foundation and accelerate our technology development to help operators innovate, explore new business models and bring affordable broadband to the masses through webscale mobile networks.”
In a wide-ranging conversation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Altiostar EVP Thierry Maupile laid out three dimensions of Open RAN: the move from greenfield to brownfield networks; the ongoing collaborative, ecosystem-based R&D work; and the proliferation of private 5G networks tuned to the particular needs of enterprises.
As Maupile told RCR Wireless News, “We know that there are probably 70-plus operators that are considering deployment of Open RAN. We are focusing. It’s a matter of scale now.”
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