Rakuten Mobile To Acquire InnoEye To Expand Cloud Network Services

Rakuten Mobile Inc., a Tokyo internet services provider, plans to acquire InnoEye, an engineering technology company based in Virginia, per a company statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rakuten is already using InnoEye’s Operations Support System (OSS) to manage their networks and to support the 4G/5G platforms for its launch in Japan. The deal will allow the new Rakuten Communications Platform to be made available to telecom companies around the world.

The Rakuten Communications Platform leverages the technology and capabilities of its cloud-based mobile network, Rakuten Mobile, to enable telecom companies to build and deploy cloud network services quickly and cost-effectively, the company said.

“Since we first envisioned the launch of Rakuten Mobile two years ago, we have also planned to bring to market our own expertise and technology stack as a unique service that will enable operators around the world to deploy fully cloud-native telco networks of the future,” said Tareq Amin, executive vice president of Rakuten Mobile. “With the planned acquisition of InnoEye, we are one step closer to closing the circle in bringing to market a carrier-grade telco cloud product that is as simple as click, purchase and deploy.”

InnoEye CEO Rajeev Gupta said the union will allow the company to contribute to an industry movement and create an innovative, cloud-based communication platform that is open, scalable and secure. “Rakuten Communications Platform will disrupt the industry and pave the way for the next level of innovation,” Gupta said in a statement. “We look forward to being a part of this journey.”

Earlier this month, Alex Gellman, CEO of Vertical Bridge, a Florida-based company that owns more than 4,000 private towers in the U.S., said COVID-19 is likely to spur the evolution of 5G over the longer term.That’s because the pandemic has shown that individuals and workforces can be more dispersed and still be efficient, Gellman said.

And in an interview with PYMNTS last month, Paul Scanlan, chief technology officer of Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese technology company, said the next generation of mobile infrastructure is not only about speed, but also efficiency.