Cisco Powers Rakuten Mobile's Inter-network Roaming Service Launch

The home-routed roaming service based on the S10 interface will be rolled out across Rakuten Mobile and KDDI mobile networks in Japan today, powered by Cisco's virtualized Ultra Packet Core

With the latest technology, Rakuten Mobile can vastly improve the overall experience for its customers by offering uninterrupted data and voice service when moving between the networks

Rakuten Mobile can now offer its customers a superior connection when they cross into KDDI's footprint to support mobile video and endless app use, browsing, gaming and more

SAN JOSE, Calif., and TOKYO, April 14, 2020 Cisco today announced another milestone in its innovative engagement with Rakuten Mobile, Inc. (hereinafter Rakuten Mobile ) with the successful launch of an inter-network roaming service between Rakuten Mobile and KDDI mobile networks across Japan.

The LTE roaming service, defined by 3GPP and based on the S10 signaling interface standard, is being used within Cisco's Virtual Ultra Packet Core to connect to mobility management entities (MMEs) between Rakuten Mobile and KDDI. The MMEs track relevant user data sessions to ensure smooth handover from one operator's network to the next. The data path will be managed by connecting the KDDI network with Cisco's System Architecture Evolution Gateway VNF supporting a Control and User Plane Separation architecture.

Using this new technology, Rakuten Mobile can vastly improve the service experience for its customers by enabling service continuity for data and voice when moving between the networks. With improved service continuity, Rakuten Mobile can offer a superior, uninterrupted mobile broadband connection for increasing mobile video and app use, browsing experiences, gaming and more.

With the launch of our S10 roaming service, we are setting a new experience standard for service and device continuity over multiple networks, said Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CTO, Rakuten Mobile. With KDDI's collaborative support, Rakuten Mobile and Cisco are showcasing new ways to combine our technology and talent to bring big benefits to the people who rely on our networks to stay connected every day.

Adding S10 handover between Rakuten Mobile and KDDI offers Rakuten Mobile subscribers a seamless mobility experience with undetected transition as they move between networks, said Jonathan Davidson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mass Scale Infrastructure, Cisco. This functionality is rare to activate between operators, and we are proud to have come together on the vision to build, test and make this happen in record timing. With the industry-leading cloud-delivered mobile packet core, Cisco continues to redesign mobile networks to support the internet of the future, today.

Supporting resources:

About Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

About KDDI

Cisco Service Provider Mobility Solutions

Cisco Ultra Packet Core

Cisco Control and User Plane Separation (CUPS)

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