Rakuten Mobile and Tokyo Electric Power Grid Co (TEPCO) have announced the establishment of a new joint venture (JV) company, Rakuten Mobile Infrastructure Solutions, to build out mobile base stations by leveraging the utility company’s sizeable network assets.
Rakuten Mobile will hold 51% of the new JV, with TEPCO holding the remaining 49%, which will look to ‘further expand the area of 4G/5G networks, promote the density of base stations, and strengthen the development of communication infrastructure with the aim of providing stable services’.
As part of its commitment to infrastructure sharing, meanwhile, TEPCO said it ‘will contribute to the realisation of a stable communication environment, such as efficient base station installation support and restraint of capital investment, while utilising the assets, construction capabilities, and know-how possessed by the TEPCO PG Group’. Established on 31 May 2022, Rakuten Mobile Infrastructure Solutions’ start date was 1 July 2022.