Airspan’s Rakuten Open RAN Deal Is a Big Comeback Story

According to DCD, Airspan Networks has secured an Open RAN contract with Japanese telecom giant Rakuten Mobile to supply its radios across Rakuten’s nationwide network. The deployment is directly supported by grants from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for Open RAN development. Airspan CEO Glenn Laxdal called this the first commercial Open RAN deployment linked to those NTIA awards, a strategic milestone. Rakuten Mobile, which operates the world’s largest HetNet Open RAN network with over 345,000 cells, will integrate Airspan’s interoperable radio units. This news follows Airspan’s Chapter 11 filing in April of last year and its acquisition of Jabil’s Open RAN portfolio earlier this year.

Open RAN Politics and Progress

Here’s the thing: this deal is about way more than just selling some radios. It’s a geopolitical win wrapped in a tech story. The NTIA grant money is a clear signal that the US government is actively pushing to diversify the telecom supply chain away from dominant players like Huawei. And they’re putting cash behind companies, like Airspan, that can help build that alternative. So when Airspan’s CEO talks about “US innovation,” he’s not just blowing smoke. He’s pointing to a coordinated effort where government funding is meant to catalyze commercial success in a critical industry. It’s a bet on a whole new way of building networks.

Airspan’s Phoenix Act

Let’s be real. A year ago, Airspan was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Now, they’re announcing a flagship deal with a global Open RAN pioneer like Rakuten. That’s a wild turnaround. Basically, they’ve managed to pivot hard into the Open RAN space, bolstered by snapping up key assets like Jabil’s radio portfolio and Corning’s wireless business. This Rakuten deal validates that strategy in a huge way. It proves there’s a path for smaller, more agile vendors in the 5G infrastructure game, especially if they can deliver the “mix and match” flexibility that Open RAN promises. But the pressure is on now. They have to execute flawlessly on a massive, live network.

What This Means For Networks

Rakuten’s comment about “retaining the flexibility to continuously enhance” their network is the core promise here. Traditional networks lock you into a single vendor’s hardware and software stack. Open RAN, in theory, lets you swap components like Legos. For an operator, that means you can potentially drive down costs and innovate faster. You could source ruggedized hardware from a specialist like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, for a tough factory deployment, while using a different vendor’s radios for a dense urban area. That’s the dream. This Airspan deal is another step toward making that interoperable, multi-vendor reality work at a massive scale. The question is, can the economics truly beat the integrated giants? We’re about to find out.