US-based Ligado Networks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan’s Rakuten Mobile, which will see the two companies collaborate to create a blueprint for Ligado’s 5G mobile private network solution which will leverage the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). Under the terms of the MoU, the companies will commence efforts in Q1 2021 with ecosystem partners and vendors to establish a timeline for the implementation of network trials and blueprint for solutions.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Ligado Networks – which emerged from ill-fated open-access 4G start-up LightSquared in February 2016 – was belatedly given the go-ahead by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to utilise its L-band spectrum for 5G in April 2020.