Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai joins the board of Rakuten Symphony effective April 1. He will work with board members, including Rakuten Symphony CEO Tareq Amin and Rakuten Group chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani, to help guide the company’s efforts to “reimagine telecom, upend supply chain norms and continue to disrupt outmoded thinking that threatens telecom’s pursuit of rapid innovation and growth,” according to the firm. Rakuten Symphony says its technology enables the launch and operation of advanced mobile services in less time and for less money compared to conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security.
Pai said he’s been impressed with “Rakuten’s vision for breaking through long standing barriers that have dictated how mobile networks are designed, built and deployed.
Rakuten Symphony claims its work in Open RAN, network automation and rapid network rollouts “uniquely positions the company to help the broader mobile industry more urgently pursue highly competitive opportunities to redefine consumer and enterprise services delivery.”
Pai is currently a Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners and a Non-Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Prior to these roles, he served for almost a decade at the FCC. Pai was also an early supporter of Open RAN technology, how Open RAN can help scale and secure wireless networks. Prior to his government work, Pai was an attorney with Verizon.
Amin said Pai has a track record for navigating and guiding challenging industry developments and discourse, “with keen recognition of the unique and imminent opportunities that exist to help mobile network operators set a new course for innovation.”
Rakuten Symphony recently highlighted a customer win with 1&1 in Germany, and celebrated its work helping Rakuten Mobile achieve 96 percent population coverage four years ahead of schedule in Japan.
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