• At the recent TM Forum Tour Japan conference held in Tokyo, Rakuten Mobile discussed three new GenAI services it is bringing to the market to leverage both the significant amount of customer data it has and AI capabilities to create new ways of analyzing this data.
• Being a greenfield network, Rakuten was able to make early investments in network automation technologies.
• Recently, the company released Rakuten Mobile AI Assistant 2.0, an intelligent chatbot designed to help users with their mobile subscriptions.

AI dominated the discussions at TM Forum’s Tour Japan conference held in Tokyo recently, particularly in terms of network automation, edge computing and LLM evolution. Japan’s telcos along with many key suppliers and partner organizations gather at this annual conference to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry. While potential network cost savings due to increasingly using AI in mobile networks was the biggest priority for telcos at the moment, the discussions also showed increasing interest in leveraging GenAI to create new, revenue-generating services.

One session in particular that caught attention was conducted by Rakuten Mobile’s Strategy & Product Office Department Head Martand Jangbahadur, who discussed how data and AI could boost telco revenue streams. Rakuten has always put AI at the forefront since its conception. Being a greenfield network, it was able to make early investments in network automation technologies. More recently, the company has made announcements around GenAI services. Last month, it released Rakuten Mobile AI Assistant 2.0, which is an intelligent chatbot designed to help users with their mobile subscriptions. The company also announced Rakuten AI for Business, a GenAI tool that is intended for undertaking business tasks, such as document creation, translation, brainstorming, analysis and research, via a chat interface.

At the event, Rakuten Mobile discussed three new GenAI services it is bringing to the market to leverage both the significant amount of customer data it has and AI capabilities to create new ways of analyzing this data. These services are designed to be used with the Rakuten Link application, which is its calling and messaging app that also allows access to other group services (see chart).

Rakuten Mobile New GenAI Services

Source: Rakuten Mobile

Hyper-personalized ads: The company is using the vast amount of data it has across its group services in areas such as travel and beauty to create targeted mobile advertising at the individual level. AI enables dynamic segmentation at unprecedented levels.

Universal concierge: Rakuten is developing a mobile personal digital assistant which is often cited by telcos as one of the most potentially attractive GenAI services they can offer. The envisioned service will be able to assist in tasks such as planning trips and suggesting restaurants based on location and past user behavior.

Official accounts: Leveraging its heritage as an e-commerce vendor, Rakuten also plans to incorporate AI into official accounts for businesses and hence create a B2B2C offering. Official accounts will also be able to use personalized ads and integrate with the universal concierge service, and hence Rakuten’s e-commerce marketplace, to better monetize their online presence.

Key takeaways

• GenAI is increasingly considered as the next growth driver in the mobile network space. Telcos have an opportunity to improve existing services and create new ones but, as always, will face competition from OTT players.
• GenAI is also likely to become the key differentiator in the development of “super apps” not only in Japan but also in countries and regions where they are popular, such as China, South Korea and Southeast Asia. GenAI could also see the rise of new players in the space.
• Telcos have a large potential advantage when it comes to GenAI services. They have a significant amount of customer data, including browsing history, calling information, location data and financial information. Not all operators have the ability to unify and analyze this information and, therefore, new partnerships and approaches will be needed in some cases.

With MWC 2025 quickly approaching, this is likely to be a key theme to watch in Barcelona.