E-commerce giant-turned-wireless carrier Rakuten has tapped IT group NEC, rather than China's Huawei, to install around 16,000 low-cost 5G base stations, aiming for full network installation by 2024. Rakuten will enter Japan's mobile phone market in October with 4G service and looks to debut 5G service in June 2020, touting low costs to pull customers away from Docomo, KDDI and The companies will develop a low-cost 5G antenna running on internet-provided software, significantly reducing costs and potentially accelerating roll-out. A new report from the Wall Street Journal says that Chinese telecom giant Huawei is planning to launch its own 5G-ready smartphone in China this year. The collaboration also offers a big opportunity to NEC, which had fallen down the ranks of global network equipment suppliers.
E-commerce giant-turned-wireless carrier Rakuten has tapped IT group NEC, rather than China's Huawei, to install around 16,000 low-cost 5G base stations, aiming for full network installation by 2024. The companies will develop a low-cost 5G antenna running on internet-provided software, significantly reducing costs and potentially accelerating roll-out. A new report from the Wall Street Journal says that Chinese telecom giant Huawei is planning to launch its own 5G-ready smartphone in China this year. The collaboration also offers a big opportunity to NEC, which had fallen down the ranks of global network equipment suppliers.