Riyadh, Barcelona & Tokyo, 1st March, 2023: Salam and Rakuten Symphony today announced the signing of a strategic alliance framework agreement that will see Rakuten Symphony provide Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) and network planning, implementation and operation services to the Saudi-based telco (Salam).

This strategic alliance lays the foundations for Rakuten Symphony to provide its innovative and state-of-the-art software, hardware, service delivery platforms and managed services in mutually agreed growth areas including but not limited to e-commerce, Fintech, online and mobile banking, gaming, streaming, digital content, OTT platform, the metaverse, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.

The signing was honoured by the attendance of Eng. Bassam Al-Bassam, Deputy Minister, Telecom & Infrastructure, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Saudi Arabia, ensuring the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be a leading country in adopting and developing advanced technologies under the objectives of the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030.

Eng. Ahmed Al-Anqari, CEO, Salam, said: “Our strategic alliance with Rakuten will power Salam’s ambition to transform our existing mobile offering with richer customer experiences and unlock new possibilities for Saudi Arabia’s digital generation in support of the Kingdom’s digital transformation journey.”

“We are very excited to collaborate with Salam and share our expertise in Open RAN, mobile and digital value-added services” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony. “We believe that Rakuten Symphony’s network automation and orchestration solutions can empower Salam to innovate in and diversify its mobile network services.”

Rakuten Symphony assists telcos worldwide with the deployment of fully cloud-native network services based on open standards and advanced automation and orchestration, enabling companies to easily build secure and open mobile networks at high speed and low cost.

Salam is a leading telecommunications company based in Saudi Arabia offering next-generation ICT solutions for broadband, connectivity, cloud computing, managed services, security services, satellite services and Internet services for government, businesses, wholesale and consumer sectors.

The two companies plan to make more announcements on the progress and accomplishments of the alliance.

About Salam

Salam is a home-grown Saudi success story operating one of the region’s most established telecom networks since 2005. It provides market-leading next-generation enterprise and wholesale ICT solutions for business, government and local and international carriers, as well as fixed and mobile services for Saudi Arabia’s new digital generation. Salam was named the fastest growing and most innovative Saudi telco brand in 2022, driven by its commitment to play an active role in the Kingdom’s digital transformation journey.

For more information, visit: www.salam.sa

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 headquarters in Japan and a local presence in the United States, Singapore, India, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa region.

For more information, visit: https://symphony.rakuten.com/