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 Symphony's 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 Ukraine's 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 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.
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 Rakuten
Rakuten Group, Inc. is a global leader in internet services that
empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded
in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to
offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and
communications to approximately 1.7 billion members around the
world. The Rakuten Group has nearly 32,000 employees, and
operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/
About Rakuten Symphony
Rakuten Symphony is reimagining telecom, changing supply chain
norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the
industry’s pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven
modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make
it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a
fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no
compromise to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has
operations in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, Europe
and the Middle East Africa region. For more information, visit:
https://symphony.rakuten.com.
Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements,” as the
phrase is defined in
Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the U.S.
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking
statements are not
historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other
things, VEON’s investment and commercial plans. Forward-looking
statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many
of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which
VEON
might not even anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained
in this release speak
only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to
publicly update, except as
required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or
circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
Contact information
VEON
Hande Asik
Group Director of Strategic Communication
pr@veon.com
Rakuten Symphony
Corporate Communications
mobile-global-pr@mail.rakuten.com
- Japan Ukraine Conference
- Rakuten Kyivstar VEON MWC Barcelona 2024
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