26 Feb 2024
Rakuten Symphony and Kyivstar Sign Letter of Intent to Deploy Open RAN to Rebuild Ukraine's Digital Infrastructure Companies intend to take the first steps in implementation in 2024
Barcelona, February 26, 2024 - VEON, (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services, today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary Kyivstar and Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of the leading internet services company Rakuten Group have signed of a Letter of Intent (LoI) that confirms Kyivstar's interest in procuring and deploying Rakuten Symphonys Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology in its network.
The LoI confirms Kyivstar's intent to use Rakuten's Open RAN and 5G technologies to help rebuild Ukraines digital infrastructure, reinforcing both companies' commitment to supporting Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. The companies intend to take the first steps in the implementation of their cooperation within 2024. Kyivstar and Rakuten Symphony are currently collaborating to define the scope of their initiative, which will involve both 4G and 5G Open RAN technology.
Rakuten and VEON celebrated the signing of the LoI between Rakuten Symphony and Kyivstar at the MWC24 Barcelona. Left to right: Volodymyr Lutchenko, Kyivstar CTO; Lasha Tabidze, VEON Group Digital Operator Officer; Mickey Mikitani, Group Chairman and CEO, Rakuten; Vice Minister Hiroshi Yoshida, Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan; Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO; Oleksandr Komarov, Kyivstar CEO and Hideyuki Hirama, EVP, COO and CSO, Rakuten Symphony.
Rakuten and Kyivstar held a signing ceremony for the LoI in the presence of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, and Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, at the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction, hosted in Tokyo on February 19, with Hideyuki Hirama, EVP, COO and CSO of Rakuten Symphony, and Sergiy Korsunsky, Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan, in attendance.
Keidanren
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group, said, Rakuten is extremely proud to continue its support for Ukraine's efforts to rebuild its infrastructure and in supporting Kyivstar's vision for deploying Open RAN. We look forward to advancing collaboration between our two organizations and to realising Ukraine's digital potential through the rebuilding of the country's digital infrastructure.
Kaan Terzioglu, Group CEO of VEON, said We are now in the implementation phase of our 600 million USD investment commitment for the reconstruction of Ukraine. I share the excitement of our Kyivstar team, under the leadership of Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov, in working with Rakuten to rebuild the country's infrastructure with Open RAN as a part of this commitment. We have a shared passion for building Ukraine's digital future and I'm glad to see the progress in our joint effort.
The signing follows a number of measures taken by Rakuten and VEON to support Ukraine throughout the war, demonstrating a commitment to its people, economy and post-war reconstruction. In August 2023, Rakuten Symphony and VEON, Kyivstar's parent company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore cooperation in Ukraine, with the goal of accelerating the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure, through collaboration on Open RAN and digital services.
Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani accompanied Japanese government officials on a diplomatic mission to Ukraine in September 2023. Serving as a representative of Japan's private sector, Mikitani met with Ukraine leaders including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation.
Rakuten also launched the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Emergency Relief Fund through its online donation platform, Rakuten Clutch Special Charity Fund, and held a t-shirt donation drive to support Ukraine that raised more than 1.3 billion yen.
VEON's Kyivstar, the largest telecommunications operator in Ukraine, has kept its 24 million customers connected at home and abroad throughout the past two years, and continued to invest heavily in its network and digital services. One of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine, Kyivstar also supports a number of charitable causes, most recently raising 4.8 million USD for the demining of Ukraine.
VEON has committed 600 million USD in investments over three years, supporting Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery; and has announced the intention to widen the scope of its commitment to 1 billion USD in five years, if market conditions permit.
About VEON
VEON is a global digital operator that currently provides converged connectivity and online services to nearly 160 million customers in six dynamic markets. We are transforming people's lives, empowering individuals, creating opportunities for greater digital inclusion and driving economic growth across countries that are home to more than 7% of the world's population. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam. For more information, visit: https://www.veon.com
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is the largest telecoms operator in Ukraine with 24 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home internet subscribers. The company provides services based on mobile and fixed-line technologies, including 4G, as well as Big Data, IoT, cloud solutions, digital TV, digital health and others. Kyivstar is 100% owned by the international VEON Group, headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam stock exchanges. For more information visit: https://www.kyivstar.ua.
About Ra
Europe Stories
07/09/2024
The IBC Talent Programme will look at how the industry can collaborate to foster new talent, make training more accessible, and develop common standards for div...
07/09/2024
The non-profit association aims to reduce risks and support trust in media, in the face of increasing threat levels
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: September ...
06/09/2024
The highly anticipated opus from director Quentin Tarantino doesn't disappoint. It's a typically outrageous conglomeration of comedy and shock laced wit...
06/09/2024
Cinema, the most voyeuristic of mediums, is uniquely placed to convey both the act of surveillance and the psychology of the surveilled. In Seberg, director Ben...
06/09/2024
In February 2019, director J.J. Abrams called Cut! for the last time during principal photography of the ninth chapter of the long-running Star Wars saga. Sta...
06/09/2024
In a cinematic universe expanding with superheroes, the creative challenge for filmmakers is to set newcomers apart from the crowd. The task is doubly important...
06/09/2024
Having photographed episodes of the Showtime horror drama Penny Dreadful's second and third seasons, John Conroy, ISC was eager to reteam with showrunner Jo...
06/09/2024
The psychological thriller Homecoming returns for its sophomore season with fresh twists, nail-biting cliff-hangers, and more of the unnerving cinematography th...
06/09/2024
Based on the series of novels by Eoin Colfer, the feature Artemis Fowl finds its namesake a precocious, hyperintelligent 12-year-old boy (played by Ferdia Sha...
06/09/2024
Vincent lives in Los Angeles, Anthony in New York City. They met on a dating app and have been talking for months, but the physical distance between them has ke...
06/09/2024
What are we going to talk about today? cinematographer Anastas Michos, ASC, GSC asks almost immediately after answering his phone. It's late July when Pana...
06/09/2024
The recent features and bear a number of similarities. Chief among them: Both were shot by cinematographer Hillary Spera. Each story also exists in the realm of...
06/09/2024
Angeliena follows the adventures and self-discovery of its namesake heroine (played by Euodia Samson), a lovable parking attendant who harbors dreams of traveli...
06/09/2024
Pair a British-born songwriter-director who's collaborated with musicians like Jay-Z with a Romanian cinematographer known for shooting intense dramas, and ...
06/09/2024
It was June 2019 when director Baz Luhrmann first approached cinematographer Mandy Walker, ACS, ASC about collaborating on the new biopic Elvis. I was extremel...
06/09/2024
Based on the best-selling mystery novel of the same name, the feature Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young woman who grew...
06/09/2024
Ross Video details the opportunities for local TV news stations to tell stories from the US election in a truy local voice
Sponsored Content
Published: Septe...
06/09/2024
The awards are open to IBC2024 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness of the new products and solutions they will be lau...
06/09/2024
Steve Belford, enterprise innovation architect at Channel 4, talks to TVBEurope about the broadcasters aim to be as well known for its approach to innovation as...
06/09/2024
In a remarkable fusion of music and visuals, the melody of the Indian National Anthem has been reimagined by Grammy Award-winning artist Ricky Kej. In this stun...
06/09/2024
Anybus Defender Product Launch Webinar 06 Sep 2024 at 00:00
By Richard Grund
Product News
Anybus
In todays increasingly digital and interconnected worl...
06/09/2024
Tyrell's Cloud-Based Video Service Bundles Cinegy Capture PRO and Cinegy Multiviewer
Munich, 6th September 2024 Cinegy, the premier provider of software ...
06/09/2024
Partners with System73 for new optimisation service for broadcast-grade content delivery
Lower reliance on physical CDNs results in lower costs and total energ...
06/09/2024
The series will return to four episodes a week from Friday September 20th
Who will escape the flames? | Fair City | RT One & RT Player
This month marks a ...
06/09/2024
How will you Culture Night with RT ?
RT Radio 1: Sunday Miscellany Special f...
05/09/2024
Nina Sosanya, Samantha Womack, Hugh Quarshie, Patrick Robinson and many more joi...
05/09/2024
This year, 15 honours will be bestowed upon 35 individuals and organisations
By Jenny Priestley
Published: September 5, 2024
This year, 15 honours will be...
05/09/2024
August was red-hot! MPC broke the internet with the release of three highly anti...
05/09/2024
Mr Bigstuff scores big: Danny Dyer and Ryan Sampson return for second series of ...
05/09/2024
Joe Lycett unveiled as host of inaugural Sky Arts Awards on 17 SeptemberThursday 5 September 2024
It has today been revealed that comedian, activist, presenter...
05/09/2024
Security Essen 2024: Sichere kritische Infrastruktur und Loss Prevention mit inn...
05/09/2024
Wuppertal September 5, 2024
Tilke Engineers & Architects, Riedel Group, and Lo...
05/09/2024
The Hongcheon Culture and Arts Centre serves the South Korean city of Hongcheon-gun. Opened in 1995 the Centre comprises a theatre, small auditorium and exhibit...
05/09/2024
Arvato Systems Becomes Partner of PTC
Digital Solutions for the Manufacturing Industry
Arvato Systems will offer customers and potential customers digital so...
05/09/2024
Apple Arcade is adding eight new games to its evolving collection of more than 200 fun titles. From exhilarating deck-building games to competitive sports title...
05/09/2024
Video patch cable 4K SC-Vector PLUS 0.8/3.7 DZ: Ideal for on the go - double shi...
05/09/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Working together to reduce the environmental imp...
04/09/2024
UKTV today announces the acquisition of Hotel Portofino (2 x 6x60') for U an...
04/09/2024
From sunup to sundown, Spotify's daylist serves up an ever-changing playlist...
04/09/2024
Cinematographer Anna Smoro ov , ASK's credits include the feature N m tajemstv (aka Suppressed), which played at the 2023 Camerimage International Film Fe...
04/09/2024
Slovenia's OB provider DVB Production is the first European customer to deploy Calrec's all-IP Argo S and ImPulse1...
04/09/2024
Calrec scoops third Argo win with NAB Show Product of the Year 2024 Award for tailored version of Argo S...
04/09/2024
Deploying BOWs software development kit (SDK), the project aims to bridge the gap between diverse robotic systems, enabling integration and interoperability acr...
04/09/2024
Electro/Mechanical Camera Stabilisation systems, software programmes that aid the editing and creation process, support for LED Volumes production, and the use ...
04/09/2024
Industry professionals will consider best practice in accessibility, inclusion and representation across all aspects of screen production
By Matthew Corrigan
...
04/09/2024
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES
Press release - 4 September 2024 09:59
Eutelsat ...
04/09/2024
Arvato Systems Expands Top Partnership with Microsoft Once Again
Further milestones of the partnership achieved
Arvato Systems once again receives all six po...
03/09/2024
IP65-Rated Floor Battery Delivers More Power with Reduced Weight.
Anton/Bauer has announced the launch of the VCLX LI 1600. The latest evolution in its award-...
03/09/2024
By embracing IP-native, software-based solutions, service operators and providers can reduce their reliance on outdated hardware, streamline their operations, a...
26 Feb 2024
