Rakuten to Offer Satellite-to-Mobile Service in Japan From 2026

(Bloomberg) -- Rakuten Group Inc.’s Hiroshi Mikitani is betting on a niche technology to draw more enthusiasm for his struggling domestic mobile carrier: satellite phones.

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Starting in 2026, users of Rakuten’s Japanese network will be able to make calls and access the internet via satellite-based services provided in collaboration with American partner AST SpaceMobile Inc., Rakuten said in Tokyo on Friday. Recognizing the technical challenges of the undertaking, Rakuten also said the timing and scope of the service could change, depending on factors outside of its control.

Using satellites to augment the coverage and capabilities of regular smartphones is an area of developing interest, with Apple Inc. adding a satellite-based emergency SOS service to its latest iPhones. China’s Huawei Technologies Co. also added satellite messaging to its latest Mate 60 Pro series. Rakuten and AST SpaceMobile started a strategic partnership around the technology in 2020, with the goal of using low-Earth-orbit satellites to deliver connectivity to unmodified smartphones.

“I want to make the physical, geographical coverage 100% for Japan,” Mikitani said at an event in Rakuten’s Tokyo headquarters. “People will be able to make direct phone calls from a ship or a plane.”

The service is aimed at providing coverage to hard-to-reach and remote areas, including mountainous regions and islands. It would also be useful in times of natural disaster in quake-prone Japan.

AST SpaceMobile in April announced a successful voice call via satellite from Texas to Japan. Mikitani himself conducted a test phone call in January, with someone calling him from Hawaii, he said. The US firm hasn’t said when its satellite-enabled voice service may be offered to the public outside Japan.

Rakuten shares clocked their biggest two-day gain in almost three years on expectations that the mobile unit may be poised for a turnaround. The e-commerce pioneer said earlier this week its wireless signups grew about 34% in the December quarter to almost 6 million subscribers. That helped the troubled mobile unit log an adjusted operating loss of ¥68 billion ($453 million), almost halving the loss it registered in the same period a year earlier.

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