Tech Mahindra sells stake in Altiostar to Rakuten

Indian IT services company Tech Mahindra and Rakuten Mobile Inc., a Rakuten group company responsible for mobile communications, on Wednesday announced an agreement under which the former has been appointed the preferred partner for global go-to market opportunities for the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). As part of the deal, Tech Mahindra has sold its stake in Delaware-based Altiostar Networks to Rakuten for $45 million.

In 2018, Tech Mahindra had acquired a 17.5% stake in the US-based telecom software development company Altiostar Networks for $15 million.

Rakuten Mobile and Tech Mahindra aim to drive innovation by transforming network services and enhancing customer experience globally. Based on the agreement, as a preferred partner, Tech Mahindra will provide its leading technologies and software capabilities to support the development and deployment of mobile networks for global customers of RCP. Through the agreement, Tech Mahindra will also provide managed IT, security and network services to Rakuten Mobile, and there are also plans to designate Tech Mahindra as an official reseller of RCP.

RCP is a cloud-native telco platform that enables telcos and enterprises around the world to easily build secure and open mobile networks at speed and low cost, to generate new revenue streams and to offer customers innovative and immersive experiences. RCP was developed by Rakuten Mobile and is based on its new generation mobile network in Japan. Rakuten Mobile combines the latest technology in virtualization and automation, including containers and microservices, and is built on key secure operations principles.

Tech Mahindra and Rakuten Mobile will leverage their partnership to develop and deploy virtualized mobile networks based on RCP to disrupt the telecom landscape. RCP contains all the elements of the Rakuten Mobile network, including telco applications and software from multiple vendors, 08S and BSS, edge computing and virtual network management functions. RCP also incorporates an app—store-like interface where customers can tailor the platform to their local requirements.

Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CT0, Rakuten Mobile, said, "In April this year, with the support of leading partners from around the world, we were able to achieve the incredible milestone of launching fulI-scale commercial services on the world’s first fully virtualized mobile network. As we take the next step on our journey, we are proud to be partnering with Tech Mahindra to offer cloud native networks to customers around the world through RCP. ”

Manish Vyas, President, Communications, Media & Entertainment Business and CEO, Network Services, Tech Mahindra, said, “There has been a renewed interest in the disaggregated software-based cloud native network from enterprises to drive network transformation. As part of TechMNxt charter, our collaboration with Rakuten Mobile will enable us to support the deployment of mobile networks based on a highly innovative cloud-based communication platform that is open, scalable and highly secure."