Launching a new mobile operator in a mature mobile market is very difficult. Not only does a new entrant operator need to persuade customers to switch from one of the existing operators, it also needs to build its own mobile network from scratch. Rakuten launched in April 2020 and aimed to build an innovative mobile network using virtualization, an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), software-based innovation as well as new vendors. Now, Opensignal analyzes how Rakuten’s mobile experience has changed since launch, how widely Rakuten’s network is available, and how Rakuten’s mobile experience has changed and how close it now is to its three established competitors: NTT docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank.
In the most recent Opensignal Japan Mobile Network Experience report, Rakuten won the Upload Experience and 5G Upload Speed awards. However, when we compare its experience against its competitors it is clear that Rakuten has been closing the gap in the other categories. This has been powered by the quality of experience using its own network (“on-net”) which now accounts for almost all measurements (94.1% up from 55.7% at the start of 2021). Rakuten users connected on-net have better 4G Games Experience and 4G Voice App Experience than the average experience on the established three operators, while the difference between them in 4G Download Speed is narrower for Rakuten “on-net” users.
To enter the market with national mobile service, Rakuten partnered with KDDI au so that in areas where Rakuten’s radio access network was not available, Rakuten users could roam onto the au network. The companies renewed the roaming agreement in May 2023, with new options for Rakuten users to connect in some new indoor and rural locations. Rakuten users with the new “SAIKYO Plan” are now no longer throttled when roaming, which will boost both Rakuten users’ national roaming experience, and also Rakuten’s overall experience.
This means there are three ways to compare Rakuten’s network experience:
- “On-net” — where Rakuten users connect to Rakuten base stations in their radio access network. This includes both 5G and 4G services.
- National roaming — Using the au network. To date, only 4G technology has been available while roaming.
- Overall experience — The combined Rakuten mobile network experience taking into account both types of service.
The extent of Rakuten’s access network has been improving. During 2021 and 2022 the proportion of readings Opensignal saw that were “on-net” rather than national roaming increased dramatically from just over half (55.7%) in Q1 2021 to now represent almost all measurements (94.1% in Q2 2023). This means the better “on-net” experience is available for considerably more of the time which helps to explain the marked improvement in Rakuten’s overall mobile network experience because the 4G experience is better “on-net” and also 5G technology is available too.
Rakuten users also see much less time without a mobile network signal now. Japan has a very low score for No signal compared with global markets. However, Rakuten has still focused on improving its competitive No signal score. In Q2 2022, Rakuten users spent 1.68% of time without a cellular signal, but this fell to just 0.91% in the first quarter of 2023.
The much higher quality of experience possible using Rakuten’s radio access network — “on-net” — is clear when we compare how users’ 4G Download Speed has changed over time. We are focusing exclusively on the 4G experience because 5G technology has not been available for users when roaming onto the au network.
Rakuten users’ “on-net” 4G Download Speed has consistently been higher than users’ overall 4G Download Speed experience. Even more notably, while the users’ roaming 4G Download Speed has changed very little since the start of 2021, the “on-net” 4G Download Speed has risen from 27.6Mbps in Q1 2021 to 37.6Mbps in Q2 2023.
The difference between users’ overall 4G Download Speed and average “on-net” 4G download speeds has also narrowed massively because of the much greater proportion of readings that are now “on-net”. In Q1 2021, there was almost 7Mbps difference in users’ average 4G download speeds “on-net” compared with overall. By the second quarter of 2023 this has narrowed to be 1.4Mbps.
In 4G Upload Speed, Rakuten users enjoy much faster speeds than the average score across the three established operators. The difference has been widening over time because just as we see with average 4G download speeds, average “on-net” 4G upload speeds are also rising dramatically over time. This combined with the much greater share now of measurements “on-net” is boosting Rakuten’s overall 4G Upload Experience which is now little different to the “on-net” score (19.4Mbps versus 20.1Mbps “on-net”).
Games Experience is sensitive to different types of network behavior than speed. Multiplayer gaming requires the fast, reliable, on time delivery of many very small packets of data rather than a sustained throughput. Rakuten’s on-net and overall 4G Games Experience has been consistently very competitive with other operators. By the second quarter of 2023, the “on-net” 4G Games Experience (81.9) surpassed the average of the three long-established operators (80.9).
The 4G Games Experience score of Rakuten users roaming on au’s network has declined a great deal since the start of 2022 but this is no longer important. At the start of 2022 the roaming 4G Games Experience of Rakuten users was 78.5 which represented 17% of measurements. By the second quarter of 2023, the roaming 4G Games Experience fell to 69.4 but now roaming measurements comprised just 5.9% of total measurements.
During 2023, there are clear signs of further improvements in Rakuten’s experience. Packet loss has been improving on both 4G and 5G. Looking at 4G, the “on-net” percentage has fallen from 3.5% in January to just 2.6% in June, which is below the average of the three established operators (2.8%). On 5G, packet loss has also improved during 2023, falling from 3.3% in February to 2.2% in June. Rakuten’s latency is also very competitive — especially on 4G.
Rakuten’s experience has both global and Japanese implications
Rakuten is a highly influential operator because of its new-build O-RAN network and its aspirations to sell its expertise with these new infrastructure technologies to international operators via Rakuten Symphony. Globally, Rakuten has deals with 1&1, Dish, MTN, VirginMedia O2, Zain, Salam, and Axiata among others.
Rakuten’s international agreements means the experience on Rakuten’s Japanese network is of wide global interest as well as being important for the competitive balance inside Japan against NTT docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank. Opensignal will continue to use its real-world data to benchmark Rakuten’s mobile network experience as well as other operators deploying O-RAN technology globally.
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