Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has secured blanket licenses for the deployment of 4G base stations for its planned mobile network rollout covering three of Japan's eight regions.
The Kanto, Tokai and Kinki Bureaus of Communications have granted blanked licenses for the deployment of mobile base stations using the 1.7-GHz frequency band, Rakuten subsidiary Rakuten Mobile Network has announced.
The blanket licenses will enable Rakuten Mobile Network to transmit from its base stations. With the licenses secured, Rakuten Mobile Network plans to proceed with the construction of its mobile network in these regions.
The three regions cover major cities including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama.
Rakuten is currently making preparations to acquire licensees in other regions to facilitate the nationwide rollout. The operator plans to launch as a mobile network in October this year.
Rakuten recently selected network testing vendor Viavi to provide equipment that will allow the company to stress test the network under simulations of real-world conditions prior to this launch.
Source: https://www.telecomasia.net/content/rakuten-secures-first-blanket-mobile-licenses