Rakuten and Celona are working together on open RAN-based private 5G, according to a Mobile World Live report, in a move that ties one of open networking's most prominent operators to a specialist in enterprise cellular.

The two companies plan to combine their respective strengths: Rakuten brings the open RAN pedigree it built through its fully virtualised mobile network in Japan, while Celona contributes its focus on private cellular platforms for enterprises. Details on commercial terms, deployment targets and launch dates were not disclosed in the report.

Why does this pairing matter?

Rakuten has positioned itself as a standard-bearer for open and virtualised radio networks since building its Japanese mobile operation from scratch on that architecture. Its Symphony unit was created to sell the technology stack and operational know-how developed for that network to other operators and enterprises worldwide.

Celona, for its part, has concentrated on making private 5G and LTE practical for businesses — offering a platform approach that handles radios, SIMs, cloud management and integration with enterprise IT systems.

A partnership between the two signals a shared bet: that enterprises will increasingly want private cellular networks built on open, vendor-neutral principles rather than single-vendor stacks.

What is the private 5G context?

Private wireless has become one of the more active corners of the 5G market. Factories, ports, warehouses and campuses are experimenting with their own networks to support automation, robotics and dense sensor deployments, where Wi-Fi often falls short on coverage, reliability and latency.

Open RAN adds another dimension. By mixing components from different suppliers — radios from one vendor, software from another — it promises enterprises more choice and, in theory, lower costs. Skeptics note that integration work and multi-vendor accountability remain real obstacles, and commercial traction outside large greenfield operators has so far been limited.

The Rakuten-Celona collaboration is an attempt to close that gap for the enterprise segment, packaging open RAN technology into a form businesses can actually deploy.

What comes next?

Neither company has published a rollout schedule, customer names or financial terms tied to the partnership. For now, the announcement stands as an alignment of roadmaps rather than a confirmed deployment, and the first evidence of progress will likely come with reference customers or trial installations disclosed by either party.