Rakuten Mobile announced on the 25th that its mobile phone contracts have surpassed 10 million. Since its full-scale launch in April 2020, touting low rates, the milestone has come five years and eight months later, firmly establishing itself as the "fourth carrier." The challenge moving forward will be whether the company can continue to expand its customer base while improving its communications network, which is weaker than its three major competitors.
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Questions asked in this interview
3
3:00How did you feel when you first set this goal?
4:53I also appeared in many commercials this year. Is this the last year?
Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us today at the Rakuten Mobile Convergence event, especially on Christmas Day. I also want to thank everyone watching via the internet broadcast. Thank you to our users and all the companies that have cooperated with us. In 2020, we entered the mobile market with the goal of democratizing it. It has been a challenging project, but we are now approaching our goal of 10 million lines, which is why we are holding this event. We started this project in 2018, so it has been nearly seven years. We have worked on base station construction, acquiring new customers, and developing various plans. I believe we have made it this far thanks to everyone's cooperation. Thank you very much. Looking ahead, we will use this as a milestone and continue to work hard. The importance of wireless networks will only increase in the AI era, not just for mobile phones but also for cars, home appliances, and security cameras, including private 5G. We will continue to work hard to be useful for society. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Chairman Mikitani. Now, let's welcome a special guest who heard about Rakuten Mobile's approaching 10 million lines and rushed to the venue. Our special guest is Fujimori-san from Oriental Radio. Please welcome him with a big round of applause.
Thank you. President Mikitani, and everyone at Rakuten Mobile, 10 million lines, seriously? I'm Fujimori, the party guy, and I came to celebrate with Charao. Nice to meet you. Congratulations in advance. Yes. I hope you don't trip here. That won't happen. So, you mentioned you're about to reach 10 million lines today. It's Christmas, but Charao's antenna might reach 10 million on the 25th. Christmas is an important day for Charao, but I've cleared my schedule. You don't have work? Please don't say that. Everyone, please laugh at that. So, shall we do a countdown to 10 million together? By the way, President, 10 million is an incredible number. How did you feel when you first set this goal?
Yes, 10 million is a huge number, almost astronomical. Normally, people would say it's impossible. The goal for MVNOs was usually around 2 million. But thanks to building the network and the roaming service with KDDI, and everyone's cooperation, we have made it this far.
Yes, everyone united to grasp this 10 million. I also appeared in many commercials this year. Is this the last year? The president made a joke again. Please take it seriously. It's a terrifying thing. I'm very happy to be here today as a member of the team. Congratulations.
