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Tag: SoftBank

  • SoftBank to phase out PHS services

    SoftBank to phase out PHS services

    Japan’s SoftBank has revealed plans to stop providing personal handphone services (PHS) for general users from mid-2020.

    SoftBank stopped accepting new contracts for individual PHS services in March and will phase out existing services for general users from July 2020.

    SoftBank is the only operator in Japan to still be providing services based on the Japanese-developed PHS standard.

    The company has been selling PHS handsets using its Ymobile budget brand.

    SoftBank will also stop providing new PHS contracts for inter-device communications, such as for vending machines and marking units, from March next year, but will continue services for existing users.

    The PHS standard was originally developed by NTT Laboratory in 1989, and services first launched in Japan in 1995.

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  • Aeon, SoftBank, Yahoo Japan team up

    Aeon, SoftBank, Yahoo Japan team up

    Aeon and Yahoo Japan have not had tremendous success with their own e-commerce ventures, according to the report.

    Softbank’s IT prowess is seen as key to enabling Aeon to make the most of its brick-and-mortar assets in a retail sector quickly evolving as customer data and technologies such as artificial intelligence are leveraged to create better, more personalized shopping experiences.

    A teaming of these companies could also help Aeon keep up with the trend toward rolling out cashierless or unmanned stores, while helping Yahoo Japan become a more formidable, competitive e-commerce player.

    As with many strategic alignments between brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailers, this potential partnership is being seen as an attempt to build an alliance worthy of challenging the international Goliath Amazon, which has set its sights on expanding in Japan.

    Physical retailers and e-commerce companies in other countries are becoming especially sensitive to Amazon’s threat as it continues to expand e-commerce interests internationally while also building up a brick-and-mortar presence through efforts like physical bookstores, Amazon Go and Whole Foods.

    As the largest retailers in many countries prepare for inevitable war with Amazon, as well as one another in some cases, there are two priorities. One is to become even larger and broader through partnership, acquisition or strategic investment. The other is to have solid footholds in both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar.

    Aeon, Softbank and Yahoo Japan are not the only ones evolving with these priorities in mind. We already have seen significant efforts from some of the world’s largest retailers and e-commerce players to do the same. For example, Walmart recently aligned with Japan’s Rakuten. China’s JD.com has been looking to expand into the U.S. and Europe, and fellow Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is aggressively investing in brick-and-mortar retail firms.

    By getting together in one way or another, Aeon and Yahoo Japan in particular may be looking to strengthen what have been weaknesses in their respective retail and e-commerce strategies, but they also would be positioned to play the game at a whole new level — that of a retail superpower fit to tackle new opportunities at home and abroad.

  • Softbank 9m17 Profit Grows 20 Procent

    Softbank 9m17 Profit Grows 20 Procent

    Japan’s SoftBank has reported a solid 20% increase in net profit for the nine  months ending in December to 1.01 trillion yen ($9.35 billion), partly as a result of cost cutting at US subsidiary Sprint.

    Net sales for the first nine months of SoftBank’s financial year grew 3.5% to 6.58 trillion yen, with revenue increasing across all the company’s market segments.

    Domestic telecoms revenue grew slightly to 2.406 trillion yen despite a 1.4% decrease in telecoms service revenue to 1.8 trillion yen.

    Mobile service revenue fell 5% to 1.36 trillion yen, but broadband revenue improved 23.2% to 240.02 billion yen and fixed telecommunications revenue edged up 0.5% to 200.86 billion yen.

    Smartphone net additions for the nine-month period grew to 1.13 million, with the operator’s total mobile customer base growing to just under 33 million, while churn fell slightly to 0.84%.

    SoftBank’s FTTH subscriber base meanwhile reached 4.67 million, up from 3.14 million as of the end of 2016.

    Net sales at Sprint increased 2.6% to 2.72 trillion yen, while the unit’s adjusted ebitda grew 19.1% to 938.8 trillion won on the back of cost reduction efforts that resulted in nearly $1 billion in savings. Net sales from Yahoo Japan increased from 630.8 billion yen to 651.5 billion yen.

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  • Hello Cycling now can be found in 7-eleven

    Hello Cycling now can be found in 7-eleven

    Bicycle hubs are being rolled out at 7-Eleven Japan outlets in a partnership with the Hello Cycling bike-sharing business.

    The convenience store parent Seven & I Holdings has partnered with Hello Cycling, launched last year by tech company SoftBank Group and its subsidiary OpenStreet. Customers can rent and return bikes at the special 7-Eleven parking lots.

    So far the service is available at nine 7-Eleven locations in Saitama, north of Tokyo, with plans to have 5000 bicycles available at 1000 stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area and other cities by the end next year. There are about 20,000 7-Eleven stores throughout Japan.

    Hello Cycling members can search for bike-share stations and reserve bicycles via smartphone. If they register a transportation smart card, they can pick up bikes on the spot without a reservation. Payment can be made by credit card without entering the store, and bikes can be returned at any participating location.

    In February, 7-Eleven partnered with the Docomo Bike Share service, run by wireless carrier NTT Docomo, making about 150 bicycles available at 32 stores in Tokyo and elsewhere. The partnership will continue alongside the SoftBank service, which follows the Japanese debut of China’s Beijing Mobike Technology in August, with rival Ofo preparing to follow suit.

    Mercari, a Tokyo-based flea-market app company, also plans to break into bike-sharing early next year.

  • SoftBank goes live with eSIM management platform

    SoftBank goes live with eSIM management platform

    Japan’s SoftBank has gone live with Gemalto’s On Demand Subscription (ODC) remote subscription management platform to allow customers to directly connect their eSIM-enabled secondary devices to the operator’s mobile network.

    SoftBank users will be able to take advantage of direct internet connectivity for eSIM-enabled smart watches, wearables and other secondary devices without the need to tether them to a smartphone.

    SoftBank arranged in April to adopt the Gemalto platform for both consumer and industrial IoT devices.

    Gemalto said it expects eSIM to become the default identification module for all cellular IoT devices. The vendor has to date delivered more than 50 eSIM subscription management servers for both consumer and M2M applications to mobile operators in Asia, Europe and North America.

    In the consumer space, the company has partnerships with OEMs including Samsung, Limmex, Microsoft and Lenovo. The vendor is currently the only fully GSMA security accreditation scheme-subscription management (SAS-SM) certified supplier.

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  • SoftBank, ZTE trial TDD Massive MIMO

    SoftBank, ZTE trial TDD Massive MIMO

    Japan’s SoftBank and ZTE have achieved a peak data rate of 956Mbps during a trial of TDD Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology on a commercial network.

    The trial in Nagasaki involved 24 terminals simultaneously downloading FTP data at the 956Mbps rate over 20MHz of bandwidth.

    ZTE’s core space division multiplexing technology means that each user on a pre5G TDD Massive MIMO network exclusively occupies 20MHz spectrum resources on a single carrier.

    In commercial networks the average user data rate reaches 40Mbps or above, and the cell spectrum efficiency is improved by 7.7 times compared with that of traditional LTE cells, ZTE said.

    The trial marked the first practical test for ZTE’s Pre5G TDD Massive MIMO technology on a commercial network, and follows verification tests in China achieving a data rate of 1.1Gbps in a 24-stream field test.

    SoftBank is ZTE’s first pilot partner for the Smart Life project, which involves planning product solutions for pre5G and early 5G networks. The companies have been conducting R&D on improvement of spectrum efficiency, 4G/5G network integration mobile bandwidth, IoT and Internet of Vehicles technologies.

    “ZTE is the first partner to support Massive MIMO 24 streams in the commercial network at a throughput of close to 956Mbps on a single carrier,” SoftBank network department director Takeshi Noda said.

    “We will work together to build a network that makes the future life of SoftBank’s users smarter and more intelligent.”

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  • SoftBank, Huawei demonstrate 5G use cases

    SoftBank, Huawei demonstrate 5G use cases

    Japan’s SoftBank teamed up with Huawei to demonstrate various real-world use cases for 5G.

    The companies demonstrated real-time ultra high definition (UHD) video transmission with a throughput of over 800Mbps, as well as remote rendering via a GPU server using edge computing.

    During the video tests, SoftBank and Huawei installed a UHD camera outside the demonstration room, then compressed the data from the camera in real-time using an encoder and transmitted it via 5G to a UHD monitor via a decoder.

    Scenery was also captured via a 180-degree camera equipped with four lenses pointed in different directions. Captured input was sent to smartphones and tablets over the 5G network to create a 180-degree panoramic video image. Huawei said this technology can be applied to virtual or augmented reality.

    In addition, the demonstration involved remote manipulation of a robotic arm with an ultra-low latency of less than 2ms for near real-time control.

    The technology was used to allow a robotic arm to play a game of air hockey, detecting the position and projected trajectory of the puck and returning the shot to the human player.a

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  • SoftBank, Ericsson to trial 5G in 4.5-GHz

    SoftBank, Ericsson to trial 5G in 4.5-GHz

    Japan’s SoftBank plans to work with Ericsson to conduct a joint trial of 5G in the 4.5-GHz band in dense urban areas of Japan.

    The end-to-end trial will involve two 5G new radios, a virtual RAN and EPC, beamforming, Massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) functionality and test support services.

    The trial is set to commence once Softbank obtains an experimental 5G license, Ericsson said.

    In March, SoftBank and Ericsson also teamed up for a 5G trial in the 28-GHz millimeter wave band, which followed more basic tests in the 4.5-GHz and 15-GHz bands in Tokyo in 2016.

    SoftBank aims to be one of the first operators to deploy 5G services once the standardization process is complete and seeks to position itself as a pioneer of 5G.

    The operator also recently announced plans to deploy Ericsson’s Radio Dot system across Japan to improve indoor coverage in high-density urban areas. Softbank has been testing the technology since 2015.

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  • SoftBank developing Twin Access mobile service

    SoftBank developing Twin Access mobile service

    Japan’s SoftBank is developing a new Twin Access mobile network service for enterprises using equipment from NEC.

    The Twin Access service provides two simultaneous mobile network connections to maintain a state of constant, active connectivity between NEC line terminal equipment and devices employing virtualization technology.

    It uses the packet copy capsuled (PCC) technology jointly developed by SoftBank and NEC to offer improved transmission quality with higher packet arrival rates than conventional single mobile line systems.

    SoftBank VP for networks Takenori Kobayashi said the service is designed to be used as an alternative to fixed broadband networks.

    “Because of its high quality of service, Twin Access can be used at locations where optical fiber lines are not provided, or as an alternative to metal-wired lines such as DSL or digital access,” he said.

    “In addition, by utilizing the unique features of mobile networks, such as their freedom from cable installations, Twin Access makes it possible to build flexible, economical, short-term networks; such as temporary networks for use at construction sites and event venues.”

    SoftBank and NEC plan to conduct field trials of the technology ahead of the full-scale commercial launch of Twin Access by October. SoftBank aims to deploy the new service in Japan as part of the access lineup for its Smart VPN service.

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  • SoftBank taps Cisco to optimize mobile IP core

    SoftBank taps Cisco to optimize mobile IP core

    Japan’s SoftBank has contracted Cisco to optimize network operations in its next-generation mobile IP core network.

    SoftBank will adopt Cisco high-density 100GE routing and segment routing technology to help meet demand for greater mobile traffic capacity and enable faster and more flexible provisioning of new services.

    Traffic demand is forecast to increase at a rate of 50% per year, prompting SoftBank to upgrade its core routers to a Cisco solution capable of housing 576 100GE ports.

    New capabilities in the system will also allow SoftBank to reduce fault recovery time and improve functions for ensuring service continuity in the event of a fault.

    Segment routing is aimed at simplifying network architectures and enabling the provision of advanced network services without increasing the burden on operations. The architecture has been designed to seek the balance between distributed intelligence and centralized optimization.

    “SoftBank keeps focusing on improving service quality and enhancing the reliability and agility of network while reducing costs,” SoftBank SVP Keiichi Makizono said.

    “Cisco’s advanced network technologies and support have allowed us to establish the next-generation mobile IP core network platform that meets the bandwidth demand. We expect Cisco’s continued support and cooperation for providing services that lead the Japanese market.”

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  • Despite Snapdeal Setback, SoftBank May Invest $2 Billion In Flipkart

    Despite Snapdeal Setback, SoftBank May Invest $2 Billion In Flipkart

    SoftBank Group is still in talks to invest in Flipkart – despite the collapse of discussions to fold a smaller rival into India’s largest e-commerce site – but it would do so through its Vision Fund, according to sources familiar with the matter.

    SoftBank, already invested in Indian online grocer Grofers and cab hailing firm Ola, tried for months to engineer a share swap transaction between Snapdeal and Flipkart, India’s two main homegrown e-commerce companies.

    That deal would have given SoftBank, as Snapdeal’s largest shareholder, a significant stake in Flipkart – but it was scuppered on Monday, in the face of opposition from Snapdeal’s founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

    Three sources, who declined to be identified as the discussions were private, said SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son was still eager to invest in Flipkart through his Vision Fund, in which Saudi Arabia is also a major stakeholder.

    The Vision Fund’s planned investment is not dependent on a deal between Snapdeal and Flipkart, one of the sources said.
    Flipkart, the most significant Indian challenger to US retail giant Amazon’s ambitions in the country, declined to comment on the matter.

    A spokeswoman for SoftBank said the Vision Fund “follows an independent process and judges every investment on its own merit”. Snapdeal also declined to comment.

    Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday that the fund could invest up to $2 billion in Flipkart.

    The Vision Fund, created by the tech-to-solar conglomerate, has raised more than $93 billion from investors including Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund and Apple.

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  • SoftBank forms joint venture with WeWork

    SoftBank forms joint venture with WeWork

    Japan’s SoftBank has forged a joint venture with WeWork Companies to bring WeWork’s novel workspace as a service offering to Japan.

    The two companies will each own 50% of the joint venture, which will operate under the name of WeWork Japan.

    By entering Japan, WeWork will expand its global community and connect its more than 130,000 members to the innovative and growing Japanese market.

    “WeWork is disrupting preconceived notions of work styles and opening up myriad opportunities for the next generation of creators around the world by taking a scientific approach that fully utilizes the latest technologies,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group.

    WeWork, a platform for creators, has created an extensive global network of shared workspaces. The company provides an entirely new way to work by offering flexible space, services, and a connected community network to creators, entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses, and multinational companies.

    WeWork’s “space as a service” solution enables companies of all sizes to enter and exit markets opportunistically, grow and shrink office footprints according to their needs, and pursue new business lines and ideas in a way that best suits their particular needs.

    In offering its services in Japan, WeWork hopes to build connections between non-Japanese members of WeWork’s global network and the creators and businesses that drive the world’s third largest economy.

    WeWork has diversified its product offering to better accommodate the needs of enterprise companies, and more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies are members with WeWork.

    WeWork plans to launch its first location in Tokyo in early 2018. To oversee this launch and scale its Japanese operations, WeWork has appointed Chris Hill to serve as the CEO of WeWork Japan.

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  • SoftBank to trial 5G in Tokyo with ZTE

    SoftBank to trial 5G in Tokyo with ZTE

    Japan’s SoftBank and ZTE have teamed up to trial 5G over 4.5-GHz spectrum in metropolitan areas of Tokyo.

    SoftBank and ZTE will work to verify the performance of ZTE 5G end-to-end network equipment in sub 6-GHz spectrum under real-world conditions in a major, densely populated city.

    The two companies have been conducting joint R&D on foundational 5G technologies including massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output), and plan to further explore using the technology for 5G.

    “We have a long term partnership with SoftBank in key 5G technologies such as massive MIMO, and we are pleased to expand that work to accelerate 5G new radio readiness,” ZTE chief scientist Dr Xiang Jiying commented.

    “As a global leading provider of M-ICT mobile technologies, ZTE is making substantial investments in 5G and cooperating with industry partners to promote the maturity of the 5G ecosystem. We are confident that ZTE will be one of the first vendors to deliver end-to-end 5G solutions for our customers.”

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  • $14b Intelsat-OneWeb merger falls through

    $14b Intelsat-OneWeb merger falls through

    Satellite operator Intelsat has warned it expects its planned $14 billion merger with SoftBank-backed OneWeb to fall through.

    Debt-land Intelsat disclosed it has failed to get enough of its creditors to accept the deal, which would have required debt investors to accept less than the value of their holdings.

    The terms of the deal were worth approximately $2.85 billion less than the total face value of the debt investments.

    SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son had planned to combine the two satellite operators to create a global network of satellites capable of providing internet access worldwide. SoftBank had intended to take a 39.9% share in the combined company for around $1.7 billion.

    With the deal likely to fail, Intelsat has terminated a series of debt swap offers associated with the planned merger.

    According to the report, Softbank has had negotiations with other satellite operators on potential replacement deals.

    The company said in a statement that it remains enthusiastic about OneWeb’s prospects as a standalone entity and plans to continue to work with the OneWeb management teams on alternative paths to growth.

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  • Softbank Q4 profit surges on Sprint turnaround

    Softbank Q4 profit surges on Sprint turnaround

    Japan’s Softbank has reported a twelvefold increase in net profit for the March quarter as a result of a recovery at US mobile unit Sprint.

    Profit increased to 580.5 billion yen ($5.08 billion), on the back of a nearly 2% increase in revenue to 2.32 trillion yen.

    For the full year, profit grew to a record 1.4 trillion yen, up from 474 billion in the prior financial year, as the result of the divestment of part of the operator’s stake in Alibaba and cost reductions at Sprint.

    Total revenue increased from 8.88 trillion yen to 8.9 trillion yen over the same period, partly due to the addition of revenue from recent acquisition ARM.

    Sprint’s operating income increased to $1.8 billion for the year, from just $300 million in the prior year, while total costs were reduced to $15.9 billion, representing a $3.4 billion reduction over the past two years.

    Revenue from domestic telco operations meanwhile grew to 3.19 trillion yen from 3.14 trillion yen a year earlier. The company added 360,000 mobile subs during the year to take its total to 32.4 million, with FTTH subscribers roughly doubling to 3.59 million.

    SoftBank separately announced plans to collaborate with Qualcomm and Sprint to jointly develop technologies for 5G in the 2.5-GHz band, including developing the 3GPP new radio standard for the band.

    The companies plan to provide commercial services and devices based on the development activities in late 2019.

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